Echoes of Destiny
by Bearit
Summary: What if the Path to the Pillar hadn't opened when it had, but a day later? Would fate even change, or would the Creator just be wasting his time? Manga-based; slight AU.
1. Prologue

_Echoes of Destiny  
Prologue_

**Bearit's Notes**: Here is a little project of mine that I started back in Japan while reading the manga of MKR2... again. I hope you enjoy! Slight warning: this is based on the MANGA, and has spoilers for the entire series.

* * *

The Creator watched the developing events with the knowing and dreading notion that the time was near. The time to open the Path to the Pillar was near. The candidates were already chosen, but He did not want to see the girl from the other world to suffer the Test. He refused to see her loved ones suffer. Why was it so hard THIS time to open the Path while it had felt like a simple, everyday event in the past?

Why was it easier to open the Path for Princess Emeraude than it was for Shidou Hikaru?

Why?

"So the real question is, why do You have to do it?"

"Rayearth," the Creator acknowledged the speaker of the question. "The rules are the rules. If I hold out any longer, Cephiro will forever crumble."

"The commander of Autozam is also a candidate; why not just let him have it?"

"The rules are the rules," the Creator repeated. "The strength of both Shidou Hikaru's and Eagle Vision's are equal, and yet, the strongest in the land of Cephiro. I cannot choose one over the other; the Path will take them both in to  
take the test."

"This is what happens when You get too emotionally involved with humans," Windam scolded. "I thought that You always advised against Us doing so with the Magic Knights."

"He did," said Selece said, "but I think He incorporated too much of His personality into Rayearth, and We BOTH know how Rayearth is. You are against it, too, are You not, Rayearth? Against having Your Knight take the Test?"

"My personal feelings have nothing to do with this," Rayearth snapped.

"Yet it does. You were advising against the Creator to let Your Knight take the Test."

"That has nothing to do with it."

"Rayearth, Selece, please. This is not the time to argue," said Windam. "Creator, please do what You think is right."

The Creator sighed. How did the Mashin get involved in this conversation anyway? They never were in the past.

"Because this time, one of the Magic Knights is a candidate," Rayearth pointed out.

"Why did I give You Mashin the ability to read My mind?"

"You said it would make things easier for all of Us sometime in the future," Rayearth replied.

"I am starting to regret it," the Creator said. "But then, I am starting to regret a lot of things..."

"Do what You think is right," Windam repeated.

"What I think is right..."

Everything was set up perfectly to open the Path without much harm. Shidou Hikaru had donned Rayearth, and Eagle Vision was also out in the open in one of Autozam's battle mecha. The set-up was perfect, the timing would be great, and yet...

... Mokona was unsure of what to do for the first time since His creation.

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will make My decision and do what I think is right," the Creator announced. "If Cephiro held out for this long, I am certain that an extra day would prove to be worthwhile in the end."

* * *

To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter One: Dramatic Autumn

**ECHOES OF DESTINY  
Chapter One: Dramatic Autumn**

**Bearit's Notes**: This fic is probably one of the darkest I have written yet. And to think that there is still more to come... where it will get DARKER. Gah. In any case, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again," said Zazu with an unnatural scowl. "You're crazy."

But the mechanic said nothing more as he retreated to the hangar, leaving Geo alone with the nameless soldiers on the bridge. He knew that when everything was over, Zazu would be demanding payback for everything he made him do. Geo made a mental note to check how much money he had; imported wine would be the only way Zazu would be satisfied. After all, he had no clue what was going on and why Geo was so desperate to get Eagle out of battle; luckily, he understood something -- whatever it was -- about Geo's feelings, and for that, Geo was grateful.

The screen in front of him flickered for two seconds, went blank, and divided into two squares. It was a private television; Geo refused to make a public broadcast out of what he was about to do.

"What is it now?" the younger princess of Chizeta, Tarta, demanded as two screens flashed into images of hers and the princess of Fahren's faces. "You've stopped attacking, and now you are contacting us again?"

"Tarta, wait," a gentler voice spoke up. Tarta was pushed to the side as the elegant elder princess, Tatra, came forward to face Geo. "You are the sub-commander?"

He nodded. "Geo Metro. It'll be less time consuming if you just called me Geo."

"Less time consuming, yet casual," said Tatra. Her eyes narrowed, but there was no malice in them; only curiosity.

"Is this another attempt to get us to stop going to Cephiro? If it is, you're wasting your time," said Aska. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that."

Geo shook his head. "No, that's not it. You should know by now how we Autozam soldiers think." He grinned weakly. "We only ask once."

"Then what do you want?" Tarta asked as her face popped back on the screen.

"I want to call a peace... and make a request."

All three women blinked.

"I take it this is without your commander's permission," said Tatra slowly. He nodded. "Do you two have different agendas?"

It took a moment of thought before Geo finally answered, "Now we do."

Before then, before Geo discovered Eagle's disease, he had devoted himself to following Eagle's orders and requests, staying by his side throughout everything, just like a good friend should. But in a situation like this, wouldn't a good friend ignore the orders in order to save his companion's life?

Even so, Geo no longer knew anything about Eagle's plans to become Pillar of Cephiro. It couldn't be for Autozam's sake; he discovered that with the first talk with the other two countries, and it was confirmed with Eagle's medical data.

There was something else, and before Eagle went into an eternal sleep, Geo wanted to find out what it was.

"A peace and a request," said Tatra. "If we do not carry out your request, is the peace over?"

"No."

Tarta blinked again. "You're different from the other Autozamians I've come across."

"Isn't the NSX's commander the _only_ 'Autozamian' you've come across?" Tatra teased, to which Tarta blushed. She laughed softly, but when she turned back to Geo, her features were solemn. "What is your request?"

Geo took a deep breath -- this wasn't going to be easy. "I want you to save Ea--er, our commander's life."

The three princesses just stared at him.

"I know it sounds crazy," he continued, "and I know it will take more than a lot to convince you, but he will die if he isn't stopped. It's more complicated than you think, really. He is dead set on this, and he _knows_ that he will die if he pushes himself, but..."

Geo cringed, realizing that he was speaking before he chose the right words to say. This wasn't going over so well; why were his diplomatic skills failing him at the worst possible time?

"But he wants it," Tatra finished for him. "He isn't afraid of death, but am I incorrect when I say that death is possibly what he wants?"

"I wish I knew," Geo admitted. "But I wouldn't have come to you if I could do anything to stop him myself. He changed the password to our fighter mecha, and no one knows what it is. I cannot chase after him, and attacking with this battleship will destroy the FTO and kill him."

"So," said Aska, "you've come forth to us and plead to your enemies to save your best friend's life."

Geo nodded. "Yes -- wait." He frowned. "How did you know that--"

"That your commander is also your best friend?" she replied with a small smile. "The way you asked us, and how you're risking everything for him tells me enough. You wouldn't have done it if he was just your commander. I understand. I will help."

"That quickly?" he asked, and Aska nodded in response. Geo smiled. "Thanks."

Although, apparently, the princesses of Chizeta and the princess of Fahren could not see each other, they could certainly hear each other, and Tarta was not pleased with Aska's decision.

"He is still the enemy though!" Tarta protested. "Nobody has yet to call a formal peace--"

"Then I will now," Aska announced. "A peace and an alliance will be made between Autozam and Fahren. There will be no treaties; this is about friendship now. If the princesses of Chizeta insist on being enemies of Autozam, then they will also be enemies of Fahren."

Age certainly did not matter when it came to politics and royalty, Geo noted. Princess Aska of Fahren certainly was more mature for her age than she should really be.

Tarta's reaction to Aska's announcement was bitter. "This could be a trap."

"I don't think so," said Tatra, her face solemn in thought. "Your commander's battle robot stopped attacking the Bravada and the Dome, and he is now fighting the Cephiro warriors. From our previous conversations, he is so determined to become Pillar that he is not afraid to die; when did you discover that you wanted differently than him?"

Geo cringed. Time was running low; if he didn't hurry...!!

"When I discovered that he was sick," he said hurriedly, in case Zazu came bursting back into the bridge. He needed to find out about Eagle's disease from Eagle himself. "It was only ten or fifteen minutes ago that I discovered it, although he showed the symptoms beforehand. It's a disease caused by using too much of our brain power, but it springs more from heredity than anything else. His mother died from the same disease because she pushed herself. If he overworks himself, like he is now, and like he has for the entire invasion... he will die."

"I've heard about that disease," said Tatra. "The Audi TT is what you call it, isn't it?"

He nodded.

"That makes a little bit of sense, but how will his becoming Pillar with that disease help with curing Autozam's pollution problem?"

"I don't know, but I doubt it'll help at all. But that's not why... I _can't_ let him die out there. If the disease conquers him, he's just as soon as dead. I wouldn't be able to save him like I did last time when he almost fell into the eternal sleep."

"You would sacrifice yourself for your commander? Your friend?" Tatra asked, her eyebrows rising slightly.

Geo hesitated. "No," he said, "but I would do anything within my power to make sure that he keeps himself out of trouble... to make sure that he stays healthy... I can't fail him now."

Tatra smiled gently. "Very well then. We, the princesses of Chizeta, will make an informal peace with the NSX for now, and we will give you back your commander alive."

"Neesan!" Tarta protested but was silenced with a look from her elder sister.

"Thank you, all three of you," said Geo with a grin. "I am indebted to you--"

"No, you are not!" Aska snapped. "I'm not doing this as a favor or for anything in return other than that I will not have any blood on my hands. Maybe if you were your commander, your friend, I would have to ask something in return--" She smiled, and Geo knew that she was just joking. "--but I like you better. You're not as demanding, and you're nicer."

"And Princess Tatra and Tarta--"

"I already received what I wanted," said Tatra as the screen went blank from Chizeta's end. Aska gave Geo one last smile before Fahren's screen turned gray, and Geo found himself being stared at by three soldiers who were right below him.

"Sir, are you sure this is okay? The Commander--"

"I am the _sub_-commander, and I am in charge of this battleship when the commander is not onboard," said Geo, "so yes, this is perfectly okay. Do not fire until I give the orders."

Geo prayed that Zazu would crack the new password to the battle mecha as soon as he possibly could. Being helpless was the last thing Geo wanted at this particular moment.

* * *

Lantis was baffled.

He thought he knew Eagle all too well, he thought that he could predict anything Eagle would decide to do... but due to recent developments in the battle, Lantis no longer knew what to think of Eagle and began to doubt their relationship.

It was understandable why Autozam had engaged in an altercation with Chizeta and Fahren, and why Eagle left in his FTO to ensure victory for Autozam. He knew why Geo didn't follow in his GTO; the NSX had to be left in control by somebody. If Lantis remembered Eagle and Geo, and if the two of them were the same as he left them, then Geo must hold a high position on this mission, especially if Eagle was in command. Everything about the battle had made perfect sense, even as to why Eagle decided to attack Lantis and ended up fighting the Magic Knights.

But when Lantis looked back at the three Roads, he was shocked and bewildered. Nobody was firing at each other; there seemed to be some sort of cease-fire.

That observation had been made only a little while ago, just as the Fire Knight managed to get herself in a one-on-one battle with Eagle.

Eagle was a very good fighter. The Fire Knight had not convinced the other two to stay put while she handled things; first of all, she wasn't like that, and even if she was, Eagle was one step ahead of her. Although it had been three against one in the Knights' favor (Lantis only counterattacked whenever Eagle fired at him), Eagle managed to disable the Water Knight, thus leaving the Wind Knight to take care of her.

The Prince and Ascot couldn't do anything, and Lantis ordered them to go back to the castle. They had refused, but soon they realized the same thing and reluctantly left. They took Mokona with them, but Primera stayed. Lantis needed her to enhance his magic if Eagle were to attack him again.

Again, the Fire Knight demanded out of Eagle, "Why do you want to become Pillar?"

Eagle answered only with firing the gun at her, to which she easily shielded.

_Why?_

That was exactly what Lantis wanted to know, too. Why did Eagle want to try to become Pillar? Lantis told him everything, absolutely everything, about Princess Emeraude's position when he was in Autozam. It did not repel him?

_You're going too far for it to be for Autozam's sake, and even if it was for Autozam, you know you wouldn't be able to become Pillar. There is another reason. Could it be...?_

From the corner of his eye, about where the three groups of invaders had parked, a bright flash of light emerged. By the time Lantis could recognize where it came from and what it was, the new enemy had reached the battle skies.

The Water Knight regained consciousness at the entirely wrong time.

"Not THESE things again!"

* * *

Back on the NSX, one of the bridge members looked at his commanding officer nervously. "Uh, sir...?"

"I'm not even going to ask," was the only reply he was given.

* * *

"The Djinn of the Royal Family of Chizeta," Eagle noted quietly from the dark cockpit of the FTO. "How did they manage to gather enough time and energy--"

A large blow knocked Eagle out of his reverie, and he realized that the Djinn were after him. He was more surprised that he didn't realize it sooner; after all, the NSX and the princesses of Chizeta and Fahren were currently in battle with each other, while Eagle was taking care of things outside of that battlefield, but...

"But how...?"

Eagle turned his attention to where he had left the NSX and was shocked to see that nobody was firing.

"A cease-fire? How did this happen? Why?"

_'Don't go, Eagle! I saw your medical data; you are--'_

Eagle's eyes widened with realization as he dodged another attack from the Djinn.

_I should have known that changing the password wouldn't stop him,_ Eagle thought. _And this is exactly the reason why I never told him, even if he IS my best friend!_

He maneuvered out of the way of a flash of light the Djinn fired and counterattacked with a laser cannon. It hit one Djinn, but the other managed to dodge it, but in the end, the laser cannon had not done that much damage. Both Djinn attacked again.

_Why, for my sake, do you do this? _Eagle asked, although he knew that he would never get an answer from Geo.

* * *

Sang Yung was surprised to see that Aska reacted differently towards the Djinn of Chizeta than she had during the last battle. This time, a concerned yet determined face watched the fight as she contemplated what to do.

The elderly Chang Ang, however, seemed quite pleased with the maturity Aska had been showing ever since the commander of the NSX asked for her to stop going to Cephiro. She had plenty of time to think about her goals and how she was acting towards it, and she must have not been pleased at all with her behavior. Sang Yung was only older than her by a few months, yet he held a higher age than her at eleven, while she was still ten years old. Still, deep down, Aska certainly was more mature than even Sang Yung.

After all, had Sang Yung been in Aska's place during the talk with the sub-commander, he knew that he would have persisted on fighting the NSX.

Finally, Aska spoke up, "The Djinn are not enough to defeat the commander."

Sang Yung and Chang Ang simultaneously turned to her.

"What do you plan to do, Aska-sama?" asked Chang Ang.

"None of my techniques have been truly successful; I would only be hurting the princesses if I were to use them," she continued. "I need something stronger... but the only thing that would work is one that nobody has mastered for one hundred years. I've only started learning it."

Sang Yung was puzzled. What technique was there that nobody had mastered for an entire century? He looked at Chang Ang, who had a concerned feature on his snowy bearded face.

"Aska-sama, you can't possibly be thinking about--"

"Yes. The Maboroshi Chikara."

Sang Yung blinked. "The Maboroshi Chikara? I thought that was only a legend!"

Aska smiled. "It's a secret only been passed down in the Royal Family, and the only person outside of the family who knows is the Royal Advisor. The Maboroshi Chikara... the Phantom Power."

"It could kill you if you are not strong enough," Chang Ang said. "You better just stick to what you have mastered... maybe together with the Djinn you can capture--"

"Chang Ang," Aska said sternly, "this is the only way. But I'll need your help. The Maboroshi Chikara is the strongest when manipulated by a member of the Royal Family, but the reason why the Royal Advisor knows is because he supplies the power. Can you handle it?"

Chang Ang nodded. "Of course I can. I was the last person to master it, after all."

Sang Yung turned to his teacher. "But Aska-sama said that nobody has mastered it for one hundred years," he protested.

"I am one hundred fifty years old, Sang Yung," said Chang Ang. "But Aska-sama, it's not a question of whether or not I can handle it. It's about whether or not _you_ can survive it. You are the heir to the throne... the _only_ heir to the throne. If you were to die--"

"I won't," said Aska. "I promised Geo-san that I will get his friend back, and I will do everything possible to do so. I will not die. For the sake of Geo-san, his friend, and my country, I will not die."

Sang Yung again stared at Chang Ang with anxiety. The elderly man sighed.

"Very well, then, Aska-sama," he said. "Sang Yung, it will be best if you depart this room, and take the other servants with you. I will call you in when we are finished, or if we ever need you."

Sang Yung widened his eyes, and Chang Ang's kind face turned to him.

"She will be fine," said Chang Ang. "Her heart is too strong for this to fail."

"H-hai!" Sang Yung replied and bowed, departing the room with full faith in his princess.

* * *

As soon as Umi recognized the Djinn and moaned in distress, "Not THESE things again," she jerked out of Fuu's grasp so as not to hinder her when the Djinn attacked, and so that Umi could be of better use than having someone holding on to her.

"Umi-san, are you all right?" asked a concerned Fuu.

Umi pouted. "Considering nearly having my arm torn off by that Autozam commander, I'm FINE. Now, why are the Djinn here? And where is Hikaru?"

As if right on cue, Hikaru flew back to Umi and Fuu from wherever she had come from. When Umi looked, it seemed as if Hikaru had just battled the mecha. There were no winners or losers; the Djinn were concentrating on fighting the mecha, and Hikaru could no longer fight without getting into battle with both the mecha and the Djinn in the most complicated sort of way.

"Umi-chan, are you okay?"

"Just peachy, considering."

"What happened to your battle with the robot?" asked Fuu. "Couldn't you have allied with the Djinn?"

Hikaru shook her head. "I don't know their intentions, and since they are spirits, I can't ask them," she answered.

The three girls turned back to where the action was taking place. Umi knew that there was no way any of them could take this battle seriously, although it was supposed to be something of a solemn battle. But how could they, when a Gundam-like mecha was fighting a couple of muscled ballerina genies? It was too weird to be hilarious, so Umi or Fuu or Hikaru let out not even a giggle. Simply put, Umi was at a loss for words.

"The three invading mobiles have stopped firing at each other as well," Fuu noted.

Umi and Hikaru turned to Fuu and saw that she wasn't even paying much attention to the battle, but rather, indeed, where the Roads of the invaders have halted. Sure enough, nobody was attacking.

"As I remember," Fuu continued, "all three were fighting each other."

"Yeah," Hikaru agreed. "I noticed that, too, a while back. I wonder what's going on..."

Umi sighed. "Sheesh, why are those people making the situation more complicated than it already IS and OUGHT to be?"

"What should we do?" Fuu asked.

"We can't do anything right now," said Umi. "It looks like the fight is only between Autozam and Chizeta."

Before anyone could say anything further, the sound of a hundred rolling bass drums sounded through the air, but there had been no bright flashes of light within the last minute; Umi knew that it was not thunder. She frowned and turned to the Roads, but none of them had moved or were moving. She glared at the battleship from Autozam, but there were no signs of it getting ready to fire, and judging by the stillness of the other two mobiles, there was absolutely no way that it had _just_ fired. Umi arched a brow.

"Hikaru, Fuu, did you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" Fuu replied, and Hikaru gave her a quizzical look.

_Must have been my imagination._

"No, never mind."

The Knights again turned back to the battle, but it was long before Hikaru shouted:

"Umi-chan! Fuu-chan! Look!"

Umi snapped her head to where Hikaru was pointing -- the sky -- and gasped.

The dark clouds spiraled and were fluctuating between hues of crimson and charcoal. Lightning and thunder came simultaneously and held the same rumbling sound that Umi had heard earlier, except this time, it was ear-splitting.

Umi cringed and threw her hands over her ears.

"Umi-san, are you all right?" asked Fuu.

"You don't hear that?!" Umi demanded. Fuu shook her head.

_It's just me then. But why? Why would I only hear it?_

From somewhere, the answer came straight to Umi, although it had only baffled her more.

_FAHREN?!_

A bright cylinder with the intensity of the sun descended from the swirling clouds, trapping the battle mecha within it. Umi, Hikaru, and Fuu shielded their eyes, and Umi caught a glimpse of the Djinn being cast aside by some sort of barrier meters from the cylinder itself. The Djinn managed to gather themselves back up quickly, but they dared not try to get past the barrier and into the cylinder; besides being impossible, it was most likely fatal even for the supernatural beings.

"What is that?" Hikaru asked.

"'_Maboroshi Chikara_,'" explained Rayearth. "'_The strongest spell Fahren's Royal Family has ever developed._'"

"But why can _I_ only hear the thunder from it?" Umi demanded.

Selece answered, "'_Because those who have had spells cast on them by a member of the Royal Family within the past five years can hear it. The sooner, the louder._'"

"Great. I feel honored."

"'_It is not over yet_,'" Windam announced as the thunder died down and the cylinder vanished.

"Eh?"

* * *

It wasn't long before Eagle realized that he was blind.

When the bright, shining barrier enclosed the FTO within it, Eagle tried his best to not let the light hinder him. He realized that it couldn't be helped, he shielded his eyes. It had been too late. When he opened his eyes again, all he could see was an ebony void, and no matter how many times he blinked, his vision would not return.

But he was not yet ready to give up the fight, especially when he had kept his hands on the vital controls and the FTO was controlled mostly by voice command.

_Just like fighting blindfolded_, he thought, _except this time, I have no annoying cloth over my eyes. I never thought that the bet I made back during my school years would actually have come to my aide._

So he kept still as absolute silence dominated the cockpit.

Before long, the FTO shook rapidly before floating calmly in space. Eagle frowned. What happened to the noises the computer was supposed to make whenever something happened? He couldn't be deaf as well!

_Those princesses are far stronger than I imagined_, he thought with a grin. _I'll keep in mind to not underestimate their powers next time._

A jerk from both sides reminded Eagle that he was still in imminent danger. He bit his lip and tried to free himself from the grasp from whatever it was that held him, but it did no good. He soon realized that he was trapped, and that whatever it was that blinded him had also disabled the FTO.

He was certain that he would feel much better if he were blind and deaf, rather than blind and having the FTO absolutely useless.

_There will be another opportunity, I suppose. Not all is for loss._

Mokona watched the battle's end from the window inside of the palace and frowned.

_The Djinn of Chizeta has captured the FTO_, He noted before He sighed. _I wonder if I have made a mistake..._

* * *

To Be Continued...


	3. Chapter Two: Incensed Winter

**ECHOES OF DESTINY  
Chapter Two: Incensed Winter**

**Bearit's Notes**: I forgot to mention this last chapter, but the Chapter One: Dramatic Autumn was my first attempt at an action-filled story. I failed; I know this, and I don't need anyone to tell me that I did. However, I would greatly appreciate if someone could tell me where I went/what I did wrong so I won't _do_ it again! Anyway, if you were left as confused as the Knights, be comforted that you won't be as confused anymore after reading this chapter. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Tarta was pretty upset.

That was an understatement, and Tatra knew it.

"Neesan, _why_ did you let that sub-commander walk all over you like that?" Tarta demanded. "He may be a good actor, or he might be tricking us in some way. Why did you agree to help him?"

"Why did you agree to aide me in the capture of his friend?" counterattacked Tatra gently as she sipped her tea.

Tarta glowered, but Tatra already knew her answer. She reluctantly but immediately helped out of the honor she had to uphold for Chizeta's sake. Tatra wanted to help Autozam out and gave their sub-commander her word that she would do everything within her power to do so, and if Tarta backed out, then Tatra would be, in a sense, breaking her promise and shaming her country. Not only that, but Tatra knew that Tarta refused to let Tatra do anything dangerous by herself, even if Tatra is far more capable than her.

Tatra turned away harshly from her elder sister and crossed her arms.

"In any case, the guards will be bringing the commander here," Tatra said quietly. "And the sub-commander will be arriving soon. I only wish that the princess of Fahren was coming; I would like to know what that magic was -- I've never heard of anything like that."

"Whatever it was, it immobilized the robot and the fighter. I'm hating this deal more and more."

"But we can still go to Cephiro. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Tarta sighed. "Peacefully, we can go, but Fahren... and Autozam are continuing their pursuit as well. It's impossible for the three of us to work together if we don't know anybody's true intentions."

Tatra smiled. "It's not like Geo-san knows anything about Autozam's true intentions anymore, either. The only one who knows is his friend, and whatever it is, it's allowing him to have the strongest heart among every single invader. I no longer know what Princess Aska is aiming for, and neither do I know what you want. I think that before we ask each other about our goals, we confide within ourselves first. I think that is what Geo-san wants; he wants to know why his friend is so intent on becoming the Pillar in the shape that he is in and somehow continue the peace with both Chizeta and Fahren."

Tarta's astounded face stared at her, and Tatra looked out the window, where the spiral of clouds and flying rocks had returned to a worse sense of normal; the clouds were emitting more friction of lightning than they had previously, and the debris of stones and boulders flew at a faster random rate. Tatra concluded that it had been because of the spell Princess Aska had cast.

"Whatever that magic was," Tatra continued, "it certainly is strong. I wonder..."

"Your Highnesses," a strong feminine voice called. Tatra looked up and saw one of their guards standing erect in front of a man in a white cloak--who Tatra immediately recognized as the NSX's commander--held by two other guards. He was not struggling, much to Tatra's surprise. "We have brought you the hostage."

"He is not a hostage," said Tatra. "Merely a guest we are having by strict orders. Let him go."

The lead guard flinched a little. "Princess Tatra... he is blind. Are you sure this is wise?"

"Blind?" Tarta asked.

The guard stepped aside to let the two princesses get a closer look at the commander, who was staring straight ahead, his pupils absolutely still. Tarta approached the commander cautiously and waved a hand in front of his eyes, but he still did not blink.

"He is," she confirmed.

Tatra narrowed her eyes. "From Fahren's magic, I assume? I do not believe that you were blind when we talked before."

"Yes," the commander answered.

"Guards, please leave us, and guide Geo-san here when he comes."

The three women bowed and exited, and Tarta grabbed the commander and led him to the table.

"Sit," she said dryly.

Her face was curved into hatred; if the commander had not been blind, Tatra knew that she would have done whatever it took to keep that expression to herself. However, her scowl was affecting how she talked, and the commander could still _hear_, so Tatra gave Tarta a Look.

Tarta glared at Tatra, but indeed fixed her expression to make it more pleasant. Doubt was better than hatred, Tatra told herself, just as the commander spoke.

"So, my sub-commander really did contact you and called for a cease-fire," he said. "You agreed. Why?"

"It is not a cease-fire," Tatra explained, "but an informal peace. Formalities will come later, but today nobody feels like writing out and signing treaties."

"I see."

"Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, thank you."

A look of disbelief crossed Tarta's face, amusing Tatra to some extent. She grinned and said, "And my dear little sister, would you like some as well?"

Tarta twitched. "WHAT?!"

Tatra laughed and poured two extra cups with the russet liquid. "For the use of less formalities to prove that we are indeed at a peace and... less time-consuming--" She took in the liberty of copying Geo's words. "--I will introduce myself and my sister. I am Tatra, and she, my younger sister, is Tarta. There is no need to call us by anything other than that. And you are...?"

"Eagle Vision," the commander replied. "Tell me again, why did you agree to aid my sub-commander to stop me from battling?"

"You are unafraid of death, are you not?" Eagle did not answer. "I will take that as a 'yes', considering our last conversation as well. You are not afraid to die... do you want to die?" Again, no answer. "I see--"

"It's not that I want to die, but I am willing to," he finally replied.

"And you will, regardless of what happens?"

For the sake of both of the Autozam commanders, Tatra decided to leave out the fact that she knew about Eagle's disease and gave Tarta a look to indicate that she wanted her to do the same. Tarta nodded.

Eagle slowly nodded. "You might say that. Now, about _my_ question..."

"I will answer that now," said Tatra. "We helped because your friend -- your sub-commander -- seemed desperate to get you out of battle, to save your life. We empathized with him quickly and decided that we would regret it if we did not help."

"And he knows..." Eagle muttered and continued, but Tatra couldn't hear the rest.

"Know what?"

"Nothing," he replied with a quick and kind smile, quite similar to the one Eagle had given her and her sister before announcing that the war between Autozam and Chizeta and Fahren was to start. This time, the frightening transformation did not take place as Eagle took a sip from the cup. "I'm surprised, though, that you agreed to it so quickly even though you had just met him that one time."

That was when Tarta spoke up. "Don't think anything of it, commander," she snapped. "It took a lot to convince Neesan, and it was only because _she_ was my sister that I ended up helping. _I'm_ still not convinced that we should have helped."

Eagle kept his smiling facade up. "Geo isn't the type of man to deceive."

Tarta scowled.

"Eagle-san, you asked us once what our intentions were to become Pillar," Tatra continued. "We told you, but you had still never given us an answer. I have a growing suspicion that it is not to help your country's pollution problem. I will not ask for your answer now, for you still need to trust Geo-san with that information."

For the first time since Tatra laid eyes on him, the commander of the NSX looked uncomfortable.

"If I told him, we would not become friends anymore."

"You don't know that," said Tatra gently.

Eagle was forlornly silent for a few seconds.

"Yes," he answered quietly, "I do."

* * *

Zazu could swear that the princess of Fahren had to be at least five years younger than him, but he couldn't help but to be amazed at the maturity she showed now as compared to when Eagle first contacted her and the Chizetan princesses. He wondered at first if she had shown this level of wisdom when she had first talked with Geo but then told himself that it was impossible that she hadn't.

After all, if she had been an outspoken brat the first time around, it wouldn't have taken Geo so quickly to grant Princess Aska her wish.

Her wish to continue helping, that is.

Before Geo left for the Bravada, he gave Zazu strict and precise orders:

"Stick around on the Dome only long enough to repair the FTO; afterwards, return to the NSX and separate the two mobiles no closer than a kilometer, and no further than ten, and then discover the new password for the fighter mecha and change the password again."

Geo knew Eagle all too well. He knew that Eagle would find a way to escape and return to the NSX to seek out the FTO (which had successfully been retrieved after Eagle had been put into the custody of the Chizetans) and try to fight again. If he returned and found no FTO, he would attempt to use the GTO, something Geo would _not_ be happy with especially if he would be forced to chase after Eagle again on the regular fighter mecha. If all three mobiles kept their distance from each other, hopefully Eagle would not suspect that the FTO was on the Dome instead of the Bravada or the NSX.

There was more than one thing that Zazu hated most about everything that was developing, but the one that was bugging him the most was the trust between Geo and Eagle.

Which seemed to have never existed...

Yes, Zazu knew about the Audi TT, Eagle's disease. It wasn't as if Eagle _told_ him; Zazu just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and overheard the doctor telling Eagle about it. Eagle didn't know that Zazu knew and neither did Geo. Zazu planned to keep it that way because he was afraid as to what would happen if Geo ever found out that he had kept the secret from him as well.

He sighed and fell back on the metal floor of the Dome. "I guess we weren't exactly the best of friends, then, no matter how well we got along," he muttered.

The mechanic half expected a response from anybody, but when only the bustling of Princess Aska's servants reached his ears, he knew that he would get none.

Zazu sighed again as he sat back up and picked up a wrench. "I could only be so lucky," he grumbled as he went back to work.

"What are you talking about?"

He stiffened and immediately dropped the tool with a loud silver clang.

"Oh, I am sorry," said the young, female, and familiar voice again. "Did I surprise you?"

Zazu slowly turned his waist to face the source of the voice, and only to find, to no real surprise, the Princess Aska herself standing some distance from the naked mech. She looked younger in real life, and he knew that it was completely confirmed that she could be no older than ten. Ten because he refused to imagine that an eight-year-old would be or could be as intelligent as her; maybe she was older than she actually looked?

He grinned weakly.

"A little," he admitted. "What are you doing here? I thought your grandfather or something told you to get some rest."

"Chang Ang wants me to, but I feel better now; I will be fine," she replied. "And he is not my grandfather. A very distant uncle, you might say."

"Oh."

"So, back to my question," she continued, "what were you talking about?"

Zazu shook his head. "Nothing, really, just thinking about some random stuff. Mostly about how to fix this baby; was that your magic that disabled her this badly?"

He lied to avoid the subject of the friendship that was once shared not only between Geo and Eagle, but among the two of them and Lantis and himself as well. Besides, he really was interested a little bit as to what Princess Aska's magic was all about.

Luckily, Princess Aska was not as smart as Zazu had originally given her credit for, for she immediately jumped to the explanation.

"Yes; it was the Maboroshi Chikara," she said. "It means the Phantom Power. It is a complicated spell and could only be accomplished by the Royal Advisor and the current head of the Royal Family; meaning, Chang Ang and myself. It takes a long chant, strong willpower, a focused mind, and most of all, an understandable reason to do so. It cannot be used for selfish causes.

"What you saw was not the full extent of the power. It was only a fraction -- barely. It was enough to leave your friend conscious but defenseless. What you saw was only the Cylinder. It shines off three main focuses: brightness, heat, and electricity. I do not know what exactly happened, but I am certain that your friend did go blind. I am not sure if the robot was damaged by the heat or the electricity, though I think that the electricity is supposed to temporarily paralyze the victim and the heat to exhaust him."

Zazu chuckled a little. "It might have been both. The wirings on the FTO are near melted and most are still dangerous to touch. I refuse to say that you've permanently damaged this girl; she's been through far too much."

Then, it hit him.

"Wait, what do you mean Eagle is blind?"

Princess Aska nodded sheepishly. "Yes... but Chang Ang tells me that it is only temporary, just like the paralyzing, and I am certain that the paralyzing must have been restricted only to the robot."

"If your word is all I have to go on, then I'll accept it," said Zazu, stretching as he turned back to his work. "Was it your first time using the Mabo-something something-kara?"

"Maboroshi Chikara," she corrected. "And yes, it was."

"It must exhaust _you_, especially if your, ah, great- great- great- great- et cetera- uncle told you to rest."

"I am a little tired, but other than that..."

"Don't push yourself, Princess," said Zazu. "It's the least you can do. Think about yourself before you think about us Autozam soldiers; we're not worth the second thought or the illness of a foreign princess just because she wanted to stick around to... um... what did you come here for?"

He turned back to Princess Aska, who had her face turned to the ground.

"I was... I came here... hopefully to see Geo-san to thank him," she said hastily.

Zazu blinked. "If anything, Geo should be thanking _you_. What do you need to thank him for?"

"For giving me a chance to save a life," she replied. "For giving me the chance to earn the respect of my elders, for giving me the chance to learn that there is nobody who would die unnoticed... for opening my eyes."

He laughed a little. "You're giving that big guy way too much credit. Realize that he didn't think about your benefits more than he thought about his... best friend's... life."

The mechanic ignored the little cricket whispering in his ear, asking why he had been about ready to say that Geo had only been thinking about himself when he begged for the princesses of Chizeta and Fahren to save Eagle's life.

"I know, but... I still need to thank him, because if it wasn't for him--"

Zazu shook his head. "Princess, you always knew and had those things, and I'm sure that it was more than just Geo that had opened your eyes to your conscious knowledge of them. I'm sure Eagle had some part in it, and your entire invasion in itself, too."

Princess Aska smiled weakly. "I guess you are right. I did learn a lot from the invasion and your friend's words when he tried to stop me from reaching Cephiro, as well as Geo-san's favor. And because of that, mostly because of your friend's words about the Pillar of Cephiro, I have decided that I am no longer invading the country."

Zazu blinked. "Just now you decided that?"

She shook her head. "No. Before Fahren and Chizeta fought with you, I had decided that I will rule Fahren and only Fahren."

"Then why...?"

"I want to know the last Pillar's story," she said with determined eyes. "I want to know what happened to her and Cephiro is now falling apart like this. I want to know why she left her post as Pillar and gave it up to destruction. I want to know her story."

Zazu sighed. "So do I."

Because it was one of those things that he never heard about, not from Geo or Eagle or Lantis. Of course Lantis knew, and he probably told Eagle... but would Geo have known? And if so, why did none of them ever tell Zazu?

The trust was forevermore gone among the quartet, if it had even been there in the first place.

* * *

Foreigners were never common on Autozam, much less foreign objects. Needless to say, as Geo was being escorted through the Bravada, he felt extremely out of place.

He finally found something to emphasize with Lantis. He never thought _that_ would happen.

During the last portion of the battle, he had kept his eyes peeled and focused purely on the FTO. He hoped and wished that the chance to step in would never pop up, for even he didn't know what kind of damage the NSX could do to spirits and magical powers and what not. He didn't want to risk hurting anybody, so he kept his interferences to a minimum but had all of his soldiers on standby in case the time came for him to aide.

Luckily, the princesses were able to handle Eagle by themselves, to which Geo would eternally be grateful for.

Not too far ahead in the dark corridor, a wide open doorway presented itself by illuminated a great ginger light against the floor and walls. Geo's heart pounded with anxiety; how was he supposed to approach Eagle?

_Genius, Metro_, Geo scolded. _Don't even know the first thing to say to him. Excellent._

Eagle would most likely be upset. That was one thing Geo was dead certain about, especially if he tried to hide it. After all, Geo had promised to stick by Eagle's side no matter _what_ happened, but that promise had just as soon been broken when he begged Eagle to not go into battle.

He had not even tried to have faith in his best friend, either. Surely Eagle must have some sort of plan that he had never informed Geo of...

No, no, no! That could NOT be right. Eagle had gone over his plans with Geo before, and not even a hint about his illness had dropped in. Nothing about how a physical sacrifice could benefit their mission, nothing about any sorts of alternatives...

Eagle lied to him, but Geo could not hold it against him. After all, he, too, had gone back on a vow.

Geo realized that he was no better than Eagle; they had both betrayed a very good friend of theirs, but this time, Geo was in a worse predicament. He had been disloyal to _two_ close companions.

Before he could wonder if his plea to the princesses of the enemy countries had been worth everything, he found himself in, apparently, the main room of the Chizeta's mobile fortress.

He tried to look dignified as the guard presented him, but he could not help but to stare at the exotic bronze statues of creatures he never knew existed and exquisite drawings carved onto the borders of the archways and pillars. He only let his eyes and mind wander; he dared not to actually turn his head lest he embarrassed himself.

Just as soon as his eyes fell to a small golden table surrounded by crimson, soft cushions, he finally saw Eagle. His back was turned away from Geo, but his head was tilted slightly around as if he were listening carefully to the guard's and one of the princesses' words. Geo frowned and knew that striking up a conversation with Eagle would be tough, especially with Princess Tatra and Tarta in the vicinity.

Finally, the guard was excused, and the kind and gentle voice of the elder princess of Chizeta came forth to Geo's ears.

"I am glad to finally meet you in person," she said with a small smile, "for I can truly say I've met perhaps the kindest man to exist."

With that compliment, Geo grew quite uncomfortable. "Er, me? What do you mean?" he asked wearily.

Tatra laughed. "And modest, too."

Over by Eagle, the younger sister huffed and looked away. Geo knew right away that she would perhaps never trust him, no matter what he said or did to reassure her otherwise.

If Tatra had heard her sister, she ignored her and continued, "Your friend, Eagle-san, has told me more about you than what I could pick out for myself during our last conversation. From what I can tell, you are truly a generous man."

Geo shook his head. "He gives me too much credit. I'm sure he'll change his mind after we talk, and if you should listen, you would too."

"We will see," said Tatra, "but Tarta and I will respect your privacy and leave you two alone to talk. I think it is the most important thing that can be done at this moment. Nothing can go on without it."

"Though I'm beginning to wish it could," Geo muttered. Tatra gave him an apologetic smile and motioned for Tarta to follow her out. Geo blinked. "Why are you leaving? Eagle and I can--"

Tatra, already by the doorway with her sister out of sight, shook her head. "I forgot to tell you, didn't I? Eagle-san is blind from the young Aska-chan's magic. It would be best if he stayed there."

With that, she exited, while Geo quietly absorbed the fact.

An awkward silence dimmed the room, as if both parties were searching for something to say that would not provoke the other or tread on sensitive grounds. Geo sighed several times and clenched his fists but winced every time he opened his mouth to say something. Eagle now had his front completely away from Geo, and he, too, did not seem at all ready to speak.

After what felt like five minutes, Geo finally began, "You're blind?"

Eagle nodded. "Yes. Temporarily, I presume."

_And hope_. The two words Eagle needed not to say because Geo knew that was ready to fly off the tip of his tongue anyway.

"I guess... that explains a _little_ bit why you wouldn't face me... but I'm sure there are other, bigger reasons, but--"

"Geo, I'm sure that the princesses wouldn't mind you sitting over here where it's more comfortable," said Eagle with a sigh. "You did seem to have formed a bond with them."

Geo cringed. Eagle must be really upset if he wasn't even trying to hide his emotions...

"It's not that--"

"It'll be more comfortable for both of us if you just sit down over here," Eagle said with a small hint of demand in his voice. "Maybe more so for me than for you, but... we need to talk, and talking about important matters such as we do, comfort has to be the top priority. Why do you think the meeting rooms often have ridiculously cushioned chairs?"

Geo forced a small chuckle and made his way over to the center of the room. Before he sat in front of Eagle, he studied his friend intently. Eagle was staring into a porcelain teacup as if it were the only thing he could see, but he certainly wasn't blinking in frequent intervals. He surely was blind. However, his eyes portrayed no anger or hatred... only fear and sadness. Geo finally sat and wondered what was going through his best friend's head; not that it was anything new since Eagle had always been a mystery to him.

"Eagle--"

"I'd ask why did you do what you did," Eagle interrupted. Geo scowled but let him continue. "But... I would only be asking the obvious. It was the reason why I never told you about _that_."

"Because you thought I would try to stop you?" asked Geo as calmly as he could, although he really was raging inside. He bit his lip to keep from screaming. "Eagle, if you had only told me beforehand, we could have worked it out, and I would have backed you up all the way. Now I'm going to ask you why you never trusted me enough to tell me."

"You're a good friend," said Eagle. "Too good of a friend. Your loyalty is strong, no matter if you go back on your promises."

Geo clenched his fists. He _knew_ that Eagle was going to bring that up. "I only did what was best... and, you know, Eagle, if you just tell me the truth, if we can work out some sort of understanding, I will still follow your lead _no matter what_. I just need to know... why are you trying to get Cephiro's Pillar System if you're about ready to go into an eternal sleep?" Eagle winced. "Is it to cure yourself and then get to curing the pollution, or is there something else...?"

"I-- I'm not sure if I can tell you..."

"Why not?!" Geo snapped, feeling his eyes burning with pain. "Am I not that reliable? Eagle, we've been friends for as long as I can remember, and there was not one time in which you never hoarded an obvious secret for me. You trusted me with everything; what's so hard about this one?"

"You wouldn't understand," said Eagle quietly. "I know you won't back me up as soon as you hear my reasons for invading Cephiro... I know you won't. You'd..."

Eagle closed his eyes and did not continue.

"I'd what? What would I do?" Geo asked. "Eagle, you won't know until you tell me..."

"But I know how you'll react, and I don't-- I know it won't matter anymore, anyway. I know that no matter what, you won't... I'm sorry, Geo, but I can't tell you. This will be the only thing I will ever keep from you, but at least... at least you won't be alone."

Geo sighed and buried his head into his palms. What to say? How to react? Why was it getting so damned hard to breathe?

"So you're not invading to cure Autozam's pollution or your illness, is that it?" he finally asked slowly. "There's a completely different reason all together?"

Eagle did not answer, and by rule of thumb, it was an affirmative.

"Eagle, please, just tell me--"

"I wish I could, but I cannot," said Eagle politely yet defiantly... and even mournfully. "Because if I told you, our friendship... but I guess it's ruined anyway, so it doesn't matter. But I can't tell you. I can't. I'm sorry."

It took everything Geo had to not pound his fist into... something. "You're denouncing our _friendship_ now?!" he demanded as he stood up and glared at Eagle, who only nodded slowly.

"It's probably for the best, anyway," Eagle replied quietly. "You don't deserve to be hurt by me more than you already have. You don't deserve anything I give you; you're far more worthy than that."

"That's not it," Geo growled as he stormed towards the doorway from which he came. "Our friendship was everything to me. It was the only thing I truly had. I can't bear to see it tear apart like this... I can't... I don't want to see it ruined. Your friendship is the only thing I'm worthy of, Eagle, and you might as well have killed me with that sort of talk."

Fuming, Geo left the room with the full knowledge that if it weren't for the trouble he had the princesses go through, he had nothing else to live for.

* * *

Eagle sighed again as he opened his eyes to what he had closed them to: darkness. Complete and utter darkness. His hands trembled, and he found it harder than ever before to speak.

_Geo... I'm sorry... but I will sacrifice everything to save Lantis..._

_... even our friendship..._

* * *

To be continued...


	4. Chapter Three: Beginning of Rebirth

**Echoes of Destiny  
Chapter Three: Incensed Winter**

* * *

After the Magic Knights returned to the castle, Lantis stalled in the fatally open air of Cephiro as he tried to figure out what had happened.

He knew without being told that the seemingly simple yet extraordinary magic was performed by a person from Fahren. The aura felt exquisitely exotic and crimson as opposed to Chizeta's golden elegance and Autozam's technology -- of course, all Autozam had were mechanical objects; they knew nothing of magic and thought it never existed until Lantis "came into town". And Cephiro's magic was far more formed yet chaotic than anything else Lantis had ever come across.

However, he knew nothing about what the magic had done except for disabling the FTO -- or even Eagle -- somehow. Lantis dearly hoped that it was the FTO that was damaged and not Eagle; after all, Zazu could fix virtually anything man made. He refused to imagine what kind of damage the spell would have done to a human being.

Even with the FTO immobile, and if Geo had been left in charge of the NSX, and if Geo really was Eagle's best friend, wouldn't he have tried to help?

Unless, Lantis considered with a saddening heart, the NSX had somehow been damaged by that same magic, even though it had not seemed to touch the titanic battleship. He hated to think what would happen to his three companions if they really had lost the battle.

After the Fahren magic had been completed, the Djinn of Chizeta carried the FTO first to the Bravada and then to the Dome of Fahren. Only a half hour later, the NSX jettisoned a transport to the Bravada, and now, nearly fifteen minutes later, it still had yet to return.

Yes, Lantis was steadily growing impatient to find out what had exactly happened, though he decided to believe the worst: Chizeta and Fahren had joined forces against Autozam, and the crew of the NSX had apparently lost.

It was too unbelievable to be true; Lantis knew the Eagle and Geo pair far better than he knew almost anything else, and they would never let that happen under any circumstances. Eagle was far too stubborn, and Geo was far too loyal. That aside, Zazu was also an excellent mechanic. He repaired items faster than any magic could ever hope to do.

But what other explanation was there?

_No. You're just missing something very important_, he scolded. _There IS another explanation. It will just take plenty of patience to find out what it is._

Until then, he decided to head back into the castle. Watching the aftermath of the battle was doing him no good at all.

Primera had stayed quiet ever since the Knights went back and had only asked one question: "What do you think happened?"

His only answer had been a head shake. The pixie knew when he needed some quiet time to think.

Now that he was headed back, Primera obviously thought that he now knew the answer. "Do you know now?" she asked.

"No."

"Then why are you going back? They're just going to scold you," she said, and then put a heavy emphasis on the next word, "_again_."

Ah, yes. Lafarga. He had to face Lafarga. That could prove to be... discomforting.

"Really, why does everybody think you're some sort of spy from Autozam or something?" Primera huffed. "You just came back from there and they never asked you anything. Like if you had friends from there or anything. And even if you _were_, then the nonliving creature would not have attacked you."

Primera paused as if she was waiting for him to respond, but by now, she knew him well enough to get nothing. She sighed as she landed on his shoulder and sat down primly.

"Then again, if you came back with even just a theory as to what had just happened -- because _you_ looked confused -- they would suspect you more. Why did you even try? Maybe you _did_ make some friends from the other countries...?"

She finally quit talking as soon as he breached the castle's barrier, for she knew that it was for the best.

Lantis could feel her anxiety whenever someone gave him a doubtful glare. While Primera knew his personality more than anyone else could -- save for Eagle -- she knew absolutely nothing about his circumstances: why he always went outside into the dangerous catapults of rocks and land, why he came back to Cephiro when he did, and why he always felt uncomfortable whenever he was accused of being a traitor. However, she liked him enough to feel empathy for him, and, in another sense, the insults were thrown right at her as well because of her devotion to him.

She was no good at blocking her feelings from herself like Lantis trained himself to do ever since he first left Cephiro, so coincidentally, Primera was perhaps more hurt than Lantis. She was pretty good at hiding her feelings with her obnoxious proclamations of love, but somewhere deep down, she was wounded.

That was the truth behind Lantis's desperation from Primera. She was hurting herself by being with him; why did the pixie code of honor have to be so cruel?

He rode the _seijyuu_ through the watery portal of the castle and as soon as he jumped to the cold metal floor, he immediately called the ebony horse back. Thanks to the Fahren magic, Cephiro was tearing up more rapidly than ever before; the world could not survive without a Pillar at this rate.

Lantis scowled at those words. He would _not_ let another Pillar emerge, no matter what the cost.

In any case, Guru Clef may want to see him.

He took that back. Lantis _knew_ that Guru Clef wanted to see him; there was no question about it.

Silently, he marched towards the throne room with the concerned Primera quietly gliding by his side. He felt her eyes studying him, but she dared not say anything. She was worried that someone may hear her and get the wrong idea of his -- and even her -- loyalties.

And that someone was waiting for him outside of the throne room doors.

"What took you so long?" Lafarga snarled.

"The _Doushi_ needs to see me," Lantis said, dodging the question. He brushed past the swordsman, but the taller man grabbed his arm. Two pairs of eyes met, and neither of them were friendly.

"I would have believed you not to be a spy if you had helped the Magic Knights in the battle," said Lafarga. "Was the attack against you just a stunt?"

Lantis shoved his arm away from Lafarga's grip. "That is none of your concern. Primera, wait out here."

"Eh? But--"

"_Stay_."

"Lantis--" Lafarga began again, but Lantis gave him an impatient look that ultimately quieted the blonde.

Lantis took another step forward, and when he was absolutely certain that Primera would not follow, the doors opened. He could feel Lafarga's glowering eyes piercing into the back of his skull, but he paid it no further mind. He felt bad for leaving Primera out with him, but when the Guru wishes to speak with somebody, normally, he wishes to speak with that somebody _alone_.

He stepped inside of the throne room, and the doors closed silently behind him. Guru Clef stood in front of the scarlet chair but still above the golden, circular platform. His face was plastered with one of troubled perplexity with anxiety dancing in his eyes.

"Lantis," said Clef, "I have been expecting you."

Even though Lantis already knew the answer, he asked the question anyway: "What is it you wish to speak with me about?"

"It is unfair of me to make such presumptions," he replied, "but would you happen to know what happened out there during the battle?"

Lantis shook his head. "No."

"As I understand it, when you returned to Cephiro, you came from Autozam."

"That is correct."

Clef suddenly looked bashful. "Would you happen to have... met anybody while you were there?"

"I knew two of the men who are in charge of the Autozam," said Lantis. It was no use lying to his former teacher or even dodging the question like he had with others.

Clef was a clever man, and the tense Lantis used did not go unnoticed. "You 'knew' two of the men...?"

"If I knew them now, I would understand what had happened," Lantis explained. "Apparently, they have changed drastically since I last saw them; I cannot comprehend the actions behind their motives anymore."

"I see," the guru answered as he stared at the circular skylight. "But the stability of this land is getting worse. We need to find another Pillar."

The magic swordsman narrowed his eyes. _That_ again.

Clef turned back towards him, and Lantis returned to his normally silent and expressionless stare.

"Lantis, why did you return?"

* * *

"Geo-san?"

Tatra turned to see a burly blur of green and beige storm out of the _centre_ of the Bravada and frowned with concern. It had only been a short while since she and Tarta had left the two Autozam commanders alone to talk, even if Tarta was not at all pleased with the idea. ("They may be scheming something up!" she had insisted and proceeded to criticizing and questioning Tatra's previous decisions.) From the conversation Tatra had with Eagle, he would not release the information so soon, and from the last negotiation, she knew that Geo was a very patient man.

What could have gone wrong?

She started towards the fleeing figure only to be stopped by Tarta, who grabbed her arm firmly. "Neesan, don't even bother."

Tatra sighed and made sure that she would not sound as annoyed as she really was. She turned towards Tarta and said quietly, "If you do not trust him, then you will not have any objections to my stopping him from returning to his battleship."

Tarta looked taken aback, and for a fleeting moment Tatra wondered if she had used too harsh of a tone. Luckily, her sister's grip weakened, and Tatra was able to gently pull away from her to pursue her guest.

"Geo-san, wait!" she called as she quickened her walk.

Finally, after a couple of more times of calling and catching up to him, Geo stopped in the middle of the corridor with the large portal to the outside and the small Autozam transport in clear view. Tatra halted five strides behind him, but Geo still did not turn around.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you," he said firmly with a hint of regret. "I don't think it was really worth it, in the end..."

"What are you talking about?"

Geo did not answer.

Tatra narrowed her eyes. "You seem upset with Eagle-san. Something went wrong, did it not? Surely you did not hear anything about his plans, but that cannot be the only reason..."

"It's nothing you should be concerned with," he said.

"Geo-san, if you are leaving without your friend, your _commander_, we still have full custody of him. Until you bring him back to your battleship with you, everything that happens on the Bravada that involves him _does_ concern us," she retorted politely. "Instead of allowing my sister and me to gather information from him, why can you not make it easier on us and tell me what is troubling the two of you?"

Geo hesitated for a while before he spun on his heel with a look of distress. "It's more personal than that. If I had known that _this_ was going to result, I would have never put you or your sister or Princess Aska through all that trouble."

"We would still be enemies?"

"I think a cease-fire would have come naturally, in the end," he replied. "Ever since I found out about his illness... I no longer had any heart to fight, and I still wouldn't, even if I knew how things would develop. I still don't. I don't want to fight anymore."

Tatra studied Geo's strained, downcast eyes. He was right; it certainly was more personal than she originally assumed and suspected, and it was something that she could not interfere with; Geo and Eagle would have to resolve everything on their own. It was none of her business. And yet...

"I suppose I am the one who should apologize," Tatra began. "I was the one who forced you two to talk--"

"Don't doubt yourself," he said with a small smile. "You did what you _knew_ what had to be done. I even wanted to talk to him, even if I didn't know the first thing to say to him. You did the right thing back there, and I thank you."

Tatra grinned weakly back as Geo finally brought his head up to meet her eyes. His was filled with so much despair that it nearly made her feel his helplessness, but she had to stay strong, but his next three words almost made her falter.

"I mean it."

"You have been doing a lot of thanking lately," she said, brightening up her smile a little. "You really are a nice guy."

"I owe everything to you," he replied. "To you... the princess of Fahren... and even your sister. I don't think I could ever repay you three. But... ever since that talk..." Geo frowned again. "It didn't go as hoped. Or planned. I hoped to get Eagle's true intentions. I wouldn't have been angry."

"Eagle-san was thoroughly convinced that you would be," said Tatra solemnly.

"I know. That's why he refused to tell me... anything."

"But that isn't why you are upset."

Geo turned his head away. "No, it isn't."

Tatra followed his gaze and saw that he was staring at his ship. He really was longing to get back, get far away from Eagle as possible, and yet...

"Geo-san, please tell me," she said softly as she stepped closer to him, placing a gentle hand on his arm, "what happened?"

A flash of misery shot through his eyes before he slowly closed them. "Why is it that I feel like I can trust you?"

"I think it is probably because we both gained a level in trust in each other during the negotiations," Tatra replied. "It took a while, but it eventually came on both sides."

"This isn't something I would tell Princess Aska or your sister..."

"Then maybe there is something more, but Geo-san, we are getting off the topic," she said. "What happened between you two?"

He hesitated with slowly clenching fists. He breathed deeply in rounds of six, swallowed, and finally answered in a rasped voice, "I think... our friendship is ruined. Because of me. I snapped."

Tatra brought her eyebrows together. "What do you mean?"

"I don't think that Eagle was... thinking clearly at all when he said it, but maybe he was right, or maybe he knew that this was going to happen," he said at first slowly, and then quickly picked up the pace of his words. "But he said something along the lines that we weren't the best of friends anymore. We couldn't trust each other. I didn't care so much about the trust at that point because I had hoped that we could get it back, but... when he said those words, I was so upset that I... left."

He shook his head, and his posture turned weak.

"Why do I have to be such an idiot?"

Tatra managed a smile. "Even though I have deemed you the nicest man to ever exist, even though I still consider you to be so, I will admit that you are no saint; you are only human. You must cherish everything dear to you and will do whatever it takes to preserve it, and if you think you have lost it, you would react accordingly."

"The thing is, his friendship is all I ever gave everything for," he said. "I gave up my life for him. Hell, I even went as far as betraying a close friend of ours for him, and I even betrayed him _for_ his sake. And to hear him say as if he were dead certain that there was no possible way for us to continue our friendship... living isn't exactly my top priorities."

Tatra widened her eyes. "Are you saying--"

"No, no, I'm not quite that stupid," Geo replied with a laugh. "I know that there's more out there to live for, and what'll happen to Zazu if the two of us were suddenly gone from his life? That and I couldn't be so selfish after putting you through the trouble that you had. It wouldn't be fair."

"But have you lost the will to live?"

"No, but if I don't find anything else soon, I might. I'm not a strong man."

Tatra smiled as she brought a hand to the side of his face. "You just think that your friendship is ruined. Something that deep, that profound, could not be destroyed with one conversation and a course of action. I do not care how long you two have been friends; you just had an argument. Surely not a simple one. It is not my place to judge. But do you not think that something horrible that happened in a conversation can be mended in another one?"

Geo sighed. "I don't know..."

"I am not saying that you have to do it right away. You need some time to calm down and get your thoughts and emotions in order and allow him the chance to do the same," she said.

"All right," he said with a nod. "I'll be back in an hour or so--"

Tatra laughed and took her hand down. "That isn't what I meant! You can stay here. It will be fine; and besides, going back to work would not be the best idea for what you have to do. That, and it would be too much hassle. Why don't you stay here? As long as you have to before you and Eagle-san can get another chance to talk. I am sure you must be hungry."

"I don't want to impose. I think I've done enough of that."

"You won't be," she assured. "I will be honored if you stay."

Geo chuckled. "Typical words."

Tatra beamed. "It's true."

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess it'll be okay," he said.

"Excellent!" Tatra replied. "Have you ever tried any food from Chizeta?"

"Once or twice; imports are pretty expensive in Autozam."

"Well, in Autozam, I am sure that it was cooked just like leftovers. No, no, we do not have any of that onboard the Bravada. Would you like to have some?"

"That sounds great."

Tatra smiled and turned around with Geo's wrist in her grasp as she led him down the corridor. Yes, he needed time to sort out his feelings, but before he could do that, he needed to clear his mind completely. What better way than introducing him to new food?

"Princess--"

"You can just call me Tatra."

"Tatra, then... has anyone ever told you how intelligent you are?"

"Eh?"

"I guess not, but I'm not lying when I say you are. You compliment me far too often, far too much, and I think I owe you one. And I think you are the nicest woman to ever exist."

Tatra suddenly felt uneasy at those words and looked away. "Thank you," was all she managed to say.

And despite her discomfort, something warm ignited in her heart that even she could not explain.

* * *

Tatra had always been good at reading people, and her air-headed attitude was always a cover-up to hide her true feelings and her true personality.

What Tarta wouldn't give to see that Tatra again.

To no surprise, she blamed Tatra's change of manners on that damned Autozamian sub-commander.

There was something about him that jarred Tarta immensely, but she could never put her finger on what it was. Sure, through Tatra and Eagle's talk, Tarta learned more things about the sub-commander than she would have ever discovered on her own. He was, indeed, a good person, and had yet to do anything to prove otherwise. Even Eagle never seemed upset at him although he had clearly gone back on his orders, and the sub-commander had done so only because of his devotion to his best friend.

But Tarta didn't know why she was so sympathetic towards Eagle but absolutely hostile on the subject of Geo Metro. All she knew was that she just didn't like him, and that reason was too childish for her to accept.

After Tatra turned the corner and out of Tarta's view, the younger sister went back into the _centre_ and saw Eagle in the same exact spot she had left him in. She narrowed her eyes slightly; despite the sub-commander's actions as he left, Tarta knew that nothing had been schemed. Well, successfully, at least. If there was something planned, Eagle would be up and about and not having the look like he had just lost his best friend--

Tarta blinked. Was that it? No, it couldn't be. She was jumping to conclusions again.

She coughed loudly. "Um, Eagle..."

He didn't budge.

"Are you all right?"

There was a short pause before Eagle slowly turned his head around with a false, cheerful smile that was eerily similar to the one Tatra had always given her until very recently.

"There is nothing wrong. Thank you for your concern."

"Then why did... your _friend_... walk out of here all pissed and everything?" Tarta kept her accent in check but paid no mind to language. "That sure didn't look like 'nothing'."

"He has a bad temper."

"That tells me nothing."

Eagle turned back around and positioned himself so that Tarta would not be able to his facial expressions. That left her pretty upset.

"Look, just because for some strange reason I trust you doesn't mean I trust your friend," Tarta continued with a scowl embedded into her voice. "Don't ask me why. I just don't."

"Like I said--"

"I don't care. Why did he run off all pissed and everything and you stayed here lookin', well, for ah lack of betta words, like someone jus' died?"

Eagle giggled. "There's the accent the people of Chizeta are famous for having. Neither you nor your sister showed any signs of it, and I was beginning to wonder if it was just a myth."

Tarta felt her face boil. "Don' stray off the subject!"

He attempted to subdue his laughter, but Tarta could still hear it pretty well from the doorway. She coughed and went back into the formal accent as was proper for the royal family.

"I swear, you and Neesan are so alike sometimes."

"Likewise for you and Geo."

Tarta widened her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, I am a rather observant person; I just happen to notice things most people don't."

"Even while you're blind?"

"Personality similarities can be noticed even by the deaf. And I am only temporarily blind, remember that. Besides, you don't need to use eyes to notice your best friend's would-be identical twin. Maybe that's why you have issues with Geo when he has never been cruel in his entire life."

"Are you implying that _I'm_--"

"I just compared you to Geo, and I just said that he has never been cruel. What I'm implying is that you are just as gentle deep down," he said. "Unless you were about to say something else."

Tarta bit her lip. Damn, he was just as good as Tatra sometimes.

"No, I wasn't," she admitted. "But... we are still straying from the original topic. What happened between you two? I didn't hear any yelling, so it couldn't have been an argument--"

"It was."

Tarta blinked. "Oh." She hesitated. "Well..."

"Things haven't been going well between us since the first time I approached you and the Fahren princess. This was bound to happen sometime, I suppose."

Tarta was at a loss for words. When she was back in Chizeta, she never got out much, and her only companions were Tatra and their cousins. Which wasn't much of company, but Tarta always made do with what she had. And with her to suddenly come across a friendship so meaningful only to have it tainted before she could fully discover the true worth of it left her with no words of advice or comfort.

"Oh," was the only intelligent thing she could manage. And even 'intelligent' was iffy.

After a few more seconds, she finally said, slowly, "So you two weren't scheming anything up?"

"Like I said before, Geo isn't the type of man to deceive. Once he claims his loyalty, he will stick by it and will only change it... for its sheer well-being..." He shook his head rapidly. "Even though Geo is a fighter by nature, he loves peace. He will not be starting up another fight with Chizeta or Fahren for a very, very long time."

Tarta stared at Eagle for a while, having no response to the small lecture, and for a moment wondered what her sister and the sub-commander were up to. She felt her nose wrinkle in disgust, but it was soon replaced with eyes of concern as Eagle suddenly snapped his head up.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Is the color of this table violet?"

She frowned. "What?"

"Is the color of this table violet?"

"Yes... why?"

"I think my vision is returning."

* * *

To Be Continued...


	5. Chapter Four: Spring Rain

**ECHOES OF DESTINY  
Chapter Four: Spring Rain**

**Bearit's Notes**: I'm back with another chapter. Wee. Expect updates on this fic to be a bit slower since school has started and I'm working my butt off on "Yozora no Mukou"--but I still have a plan to get this thing finished by the end of November, if that makes you feel any better. Fahren fans, they'll be back in the story next chapter. Zazu fans, he'll be back next chapter. For now, it's all about Eagle and Tarta and Geo/Tatra. Enjoy!

* * *

"In six hours, the Path will open."

The Creator's announcement was met only with silence from the three _Mashin_. They stared at him with unemotional eyes as they were taught to always do, but the way their mouths were fixed indicated that they were not exactly pleased with His decision. So, He repeated Himself.

"The Path will open in six hours. I have made My decision."

"Are You sure this is wise?" asked Windam. "You are choosing rather early."

"I am sure."

"The Magic Knight and the Autozam commander are still the candidates," said Rayearth. "If You were hoping that another candidate would appear--"

"I am sure that will come in time," Selece replied. "There are several willpowers and hearts that are growing in this short period of time; Who knows where they might be headed in six?"

"Yet You still disagree."

"Of course. I agree with Windam, however; His decision is coming quite prematurely."

"I did not need a whole day to think," the Creator snapped. "In the end, I realized that this is My duty. I have to open the Path to the Pillar when the opportunity arises. I cannot stall for any reason whatsoever. In six hours, the Path will open, for that is when everything will be laid into place if things proceed as they have been."

Selece sighed. "If things proceed as they have been going, then another candidate will arise."

"The strongest hearts get the prize, Selece," said Rayearth. "Not the strongest will. From what I can see, there are wishes and desires that are being given more attention than ever before."

"You do realize that this is also including Eagle Vision, do You not?"

"His candidacy might falter," said Windam. "His wish is not changing, but his heart is growing weaker. Even if a bit slightly, but that slight difference may change everything."

"Tell Me, _Mashin_," the Creator demanded, "You keep making observations about the candidates as well as the candidates You see might be born? Tell Me, name a couple of these people."

The Three were silent for a while, hesitant with what They were about to say, until finally, Windam spoke up.

"There is no proof yet. We are merely just seeing into the future that might be. The future that will come almost certainly. The magic swordsman of Cephiro still has the strongest heart out of all the people of Cephiro, but it is still nothing compared to Shidou Hikaru and Eagle Vision. Nobody in Cephiro is showing a change of willpower or strength of heart; have you been paying attention to the royalty of Chizeta and Fahren? The commanding crew of the NSX?"

"Though I do not believe that the Lady Aska of Fahren will become the candidate," said Selece. "She has a strong heart, the strongest of the people of Fahren, especially since she was able to handle the _Maboroshi Chikara_. But it was more of her strong will -- her _temporary_ strong will -- that allowed her to accomplish the task and survive."

"And the princesses of Chizeta?" the Creator asked.

Rayearth said, "One of the princesses is falling in love. However, her heart is still torn between him and her dedication to her sister; with that conflict, she is not fit to be Pillar. As for her younger sister, she is not willing to take risks that would allow her to lose anybody close to her."

"So, the new candidate is from Autozam?"

The three _Mashin_ glanced at each other with a look of nervousness the Creator was absolutely certain He made sure that They would never have.

"We think," said Selece, "that it might be so."

* * *

It took at least an hour before Eagle's eyesight returned to stability, but unfortunately, all he kept reassuring to Tarta was that he could see fuzzy objects; he was in no shape to walk around unless he accidentally ran into something sharp. Tarta had been about to retort that there was nothing at all dangerous for a clumsy person on the Bravada, but decided that if she was going to uphold her loyalty to her sister, she had best not say anything to encourage Eagle to escape.

So, not only did she not tell Eagle how safe the Bravada was, but she stayed with Eagle to make sure he would not leave.

She entertained herself by checking every five minutes how Eagle's vision was developing.

"All right, how many fingers am I holding up now?"

It had to be the fiftieth time since Eagle announced that his eyesight was returning that she had asked that, and for the fiftieth time, Eagle squinted and paused for about ten seconds--Tarta counted.

"Three."

Tarta sighed and pulled her hand down from his sight. "If it takes you that long--"

"I know, I know. I can't possibly get around by myself."

She frowned. "That wasn't what I was about to say. If it's taking you this long to get your full vision back, maybe your horrible eyesight is permanent."

Unlike how Tarta would view a normal person would react to such news--with hysteria or sadness--Eagle merely smiled and said, "That might be bad. I could never pilot the FTO again unless I get surgery done."

"Surgery?"

"It's a medical operation."

Tarta blinked. "What?"

"If someone is sick, then it takes doctors to find out what's wrong. If it is inside of the body, or if it requires a replacement of a body organ, then, well, they open the person up to discover what it is."

She widened her eyes and her jaw fell. "Does it hurt?"

"No; the patient is put on painkillers. I take it that Chizeta has a different way of healing people."

"Well, yeah. If someone is sick, then we use herbs or something to get them to get better. If someone is injured, we just bandage them up."

"And hope for the best?"

"That's all we _need_ to do. We can't and don't open people up to replace their stomach just because they have a tummy ache; we have healing herbs. If someone is cursed enough to have bad eyesight--like you--then they just have to suck up and deal. If the ailment is contagious, then the patient and family and healer are quarantined until the illness is gone for sure."

"With all of that, I wonder why you have such an overpopulation problem."

Tarta gritted her teeth. "How dare you! We have _skilled_ healers; they know what they're doing. Even if it's some sort of sickness that has never come across Chizeta before, they can find a way to heal them! We don't need no technology or opening people up to find out what's wrong and get them better!"

Eagle only continued to smile. "I apologize."

Tarta scowled, and since she had nothing else to say, she held up her hand again.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

Pause.

"Five."

"Are you getting used to your vision?"

"No. I think it's getting better."

"Hmph."

"You sound disappointed."

"That's none of your business."

Eagle laughed. "I know you're still here because you don't trust me enough to leave me alone. I might try to escape as soon as my full vision returns, if it ever does. Now I have faith that it will come completely back, and as long as I believe in it, it will."

"And then you'll attempt to escape," replied Tarta, eyebrow arched. "You know I won't let you. Neither would Neesan."

"Is Geo still onboard?"

"How am _I_ supposed to know?! And what does that have to do with anything?"

Eagle said nothing, and Tarta decided to stay silent as well for a while to recollect her temper. Did Eagle have some sort of plan? Or maybe he and Geo had schemed something up and Eagle had just been lying through his teeth; in order for the plan to work out, did the sub-commander still have to be onboard or back on the battleship?

But what if Eagle _had_ told the truth? Was he still planning to escape, and wherever Geo was, it would affect said plan?

She drew in a large breath and slowly said, "Eagle, I never asked, but what is going on between you and that sub-commander? Are you still friends, or have you become enemies? Or maybe--"

"I don't know," said Eagle with eyes filled with sorrow and regret, "but it would probably be better for both of us if we were now enemies."

"Why?"

"Because--" He hesitated. "If he ever discovered my reasons for trying to become the Pillar, our friendship would no longer exist. And that would be good, in a way, since the Pillar is not allowed to love anybody or anything else but Cephiro."

"So it's _not_ for Autozam."

"I thought we had cleared that up before? It's no use lying when everybody now knows differently."

Tarta knitted her eyebrows together. "But... will you ever tell him? Or does he know exactly what it is?"

"No. He doesn't know. But I think that if I tell him, it would be for the best for everybody."

"Why?"

Eagle paused for a moment. "It's complicated."

Tarta sighed as a frigid breeze of sadness blew in her heart. She still hated the sub-commander, but in Eagle's eyes she could see that he was lying horribly. He truly did not want to lose his friendship with Geo, although he tried to convince himself otherwise. He probably had never considered losing his best and closest friend until Geo had tried to stop him to figure out what Eagle really wanted from the Pillar.

While Tarta did not care about anything that would happen to the sub-commander, she did care about what happened to Eagle; his heart was crying because he was about to lose his best friend, and for that reason, Tarta found another reason to resent Geo Metro.

"How many fingers am I holding up now?"

Eagle squinted only slightly.

"Two."

Tarta raised both eyebrows. "I think you're healing faster than before."

"So do I."

"Is it because of your willpower in this land?"

"Perhaps. I wouldn't doubt it."

Tarta shrugged. News like that no longer surprised her. "How well can you see now?"

"It's still fuzzy, but I can see the shapes and edges of objects. Though, I can't really see any small details unless I squint or maybe if I get closer to the object. I guess this is what the doctors call 'near-sighted'."

"Near-sighted?"

"Meaning I can only see things close to me, but not far away."

Tarta bit her lip and hesitated. "Can you see me?"

"Yes, but not very well," he replied with a smile that now seemed more charismatic than cute. "But I can see your facial expressions now; how nervous are you around me? Do you not trust me at all? I wouldn't blame you--"

"No, that's not what I meant--I was just wondering how far your vision can go."

"You're pretty close. There's only the table in between us."

Tarta shrugged, looked away, and only offered, "Still."

He laughed his bell-like laugh again. "If I were you, I wouldn't trust me very much. The blindness had been a handicap for me, which is why I gave in--temporarily. Which is why I'm being civil about being held captive--temporarily."

Tarta's face hardened. "Your sub-commander said that he would not consider you a prisoner if we helped him capture you."

"He's a diplomatic man. A bit of a contradiction, if you think about it. Most fighters talk with their guns and not with their hearts. They don't even have a thought of peace in their mind."

"Autozam soldiers don't!" Tarta snapped. "How could you think of such a thing about all warriors? Chizeta's guards and soldiers grow up and are trained to fight only to keep the peace. They fight because they _want_ peace, not because they're bloodthirsty. They feel guilt for every man they kill and often make condolences at that man's memorial service. How could you think such a thing?!"

"Perhaps it's the way I grew up," replied Eagle, his eyes jumping up at Tarta. With his eyes so full of life as opposed to the death from before, Tarta saw more emotions than she had ever thought could be reflected in such pools. "Autozam soldiers aren't taught morals. They are taught honor; morals come from their mothers when they are young children. They are taught how to win with honor."

"They are taught to get what they want with violence," Tarta retorted.

"If negotiations will not work," he replied, his smile faltering. "That is what we did with you. We tried to get you to stop from invading, but you refused to, so we battled. If a cold war cannot help, then a war of fire is what we need to use to help ourselves."

Tarta laughed bitterly. "You certainly did stop at least Neesan and myself from invading; we only fought you for one reason: to protect Cephiro."

Eagle blinked and stared at Tarta. "'To protect Cephiro'? What about the Pillar? Did you not want to gain Cephiro to ease Chizeta's overpopulation?"

"Well, we gave UP on the Pillar--or, at least, I did," Tarta said. "I don't think Neesan ever wanted the Pillar in the first place. I swear she knows something I don't about it; she just came along because--I think--to keep me out of trouble. I think. I'm not sure. But after your lecture to Princess Aska, I decided that if I talked to the rulers of Cephiro, I could gain at least some portion of the land to colonize. Just a tiny bit, that's all we need, and preferably for the farmers. But I knew I could _not_ get that land if you won."

"You could have told me. You could have stood up for yourself and told me."

"You never gave me a chance."

"If you were strong enough, you wouldn't have needed me to give you a chance," Eagle replied serenely. "Just because I only asked for a 'yes' or 'no' answer doesn't necessarily mean I did not want anything more."

Tarta scowled. "You should have told us. I'm sure Princess Aska would say the same thing--she probably gave up on the Pillar as well."

"You need people to tell you what to do? You need someone to tell you to stand up for what you believe in?"

"But--" Tarta began but said nothing more when she realized that she had nothing to say to that. She had no rebuttal.

However, a regretful resent settled into her. She hated to say that Eagle was right; she should have known better. Knowing that a simple "yes" or "no" was the worst answer to give in a diplomatic situation was universal. Why had speeches been given far too often in the past?

Eagle stood. "Thank you for your hospitality," he said quietly, "but I am afraid that I must leave now."

He walked out of the room, and Tarta was left speechless and downhearted.

By the time she could pick up her feet to stop the commander, it was far too late.

Two others had tried to stop him first.

* * *

Eagle knew that the FTO would not be anywhere on the Bravada. If Geo did not want him going out to battle, then he would not put it someplace in immediate reach of Eagle's grasp. However, Eagle knew that Geo had to have made it to the Bravada from the NSX somehow, and once Eagle discovered what it was, he would return to the NSX and attempt to locate the FTO.

His vision had fully returned. He could see perfectly. While there was no longer any battle to attend to, Eagle needed to get out of reach from everybody who would try to stop him. He could not become Pillar if he was being held against his will.

The first thing Eagle needed to do was find a way out of the Bravada. It must be late at night; he was certain that the princesses would illuminate the hallways to show of the golden elegance, for against the dark navy color he could see shiny creatures and plants engraved on the edges of the walls. Most people must be asleep, which, he figured, would prove to both help and hinder. There was less of a chance he could get caught, and if he did, it would be far too late. However, royalty must have a very efficient way of protecting their abode from thieves, so the security system must be very tight.

If only the royal guard had not been so insistent on unarming him, then he would find some method of fighting back.

Although, he reminded himself; being from Autozam, he was quite athletic. He was a great runner despite constantly becoming short-winded; he could jump higher distances than most; and above all, he could hold against his own even in a fist fight, even if he never attacked. It was about evading the onslaughts; he saved the actual fighting for his mecha.

Now that he had gained his full breath back and dangers of collapsing were no longer imminent, he picked up his feet to jog again, but before he could go far, well...

"Eagle!"

He halted immediately, although he had to momentary ask himself why only the voice of his former best friend had managed to stop him.

Eagle slowly turned around and saw that Geo and Tatra had just turned the corner from another, adjoining corridor, and both were staring at him, astonished.

He said the first thing that came to mind, "I already thanked your sister, but I guess I must show my gratitude as well, _himesama_. I appreciate your hospitality, but I must leave now."

Geo opened his mouth angrily to protest, but Tatra silenced him.

"I take it your eyesight has returned," she said quietly. Eagle nodded. "What did you do to my sister?"

Eagle blinked. "I-- nothing."

She narrowed her eyes. "I know Tarta. She would not let you go without at least some sort of fight. Even if you did not hurt her, I sure do not see her chasing you. What did you to do her?"

"Maybe I said something to stop her from preventing me from escaping," Eagle offered truthfully. "We did have an intense conversation."

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Geo demanded. "It would do you no good to go either to the NSX or the Dome. Why are you so anxious to get out?"

Eagle shrugged. "Maybe I am trying to go someplace where nobody can stop me from making my own decisions, despite me being the commander of the NSX."

He blinked at his own words as Geo bit his lip, looking more than offended. He had not meant to sound so sarcastic or bitter, especially not to _him_. It was too late now; Eagle knew better than to apologize for his attitude. After all, he told himself, this was for the better. If he managed to let go of all attachments, he would have a better chance to get what he needed.

Geo shook his head and took a step closer to Eagle. Eagle kept his footing and refused to step back; he was not afraid of Geo; there was no need to be. But he did look away and refused to meet his eyes.

"Eagle, I--" he hesitated. "I'm sorry for betraying you back there. I really am. But... you were going to get killed, and I could not let that happen."

"Even if I wanted it?"

"If you had told me beforehand, maybe I wouldn't have stopped you."

Eagle frowned. "I don't believe that. You're too nice to me; even if I wanted to die, you wouldn't let me."

"Well, that's what friends are for. Why didn't you tell me about the Audi TT?"

His heart jumped, and Eagle snapped his head towards Geo with widened eyes. What surprised him further was the bitterness that painted Geo's face, and Tatra's indifferent reaction with only sadness in her eyes.

Geo sighed and closed his eyes. "Yes, I told the princesses--all three of them--about your illness. Don't worry; Zazu doesn't know yet, and I want him to hear it from you and only from you. Don't you think you owe the kid that much?"

"Why did you tell _them_ about it?" Eagle demanded.

"To save your life," Geo said as he reopened his eyes, a glare within his pupils. "Luckily, Zazu didn't need to know _that_ in order to try to launch the GTO for me, but I think, somehow, he knows, as well. Why else would he go against a commander's orders in favor of a mere _sub_-commander's?"

"I guess changing the passwords wasn't good enough."

"It was for a while, until you stopped attacking the Bravada and the Dome and I was able to contact the princesses with reassurance that we would not be interrupted."

"Which leads to my question," Tatra piped up with a low tune. "Why did you stop attacking us? Why did you start attacking the people of Cephiro?"

Eagle stared at Tatra, attempting to think up some sort of answer. How could he explain to Geo why he started fighting Lantis--and, ultimately, explain to him _why_ he was so intent on becoming the Pillar? Despite what he had told Tarta earlier, he was unsure if this was really what he wanted. He didn't know if he wanted to lose his best friend forever. After all, weren't Pillars allowed to love people, and wouldn't a best friend count as those people?

He scowled. That must have been Princess Emeraude's logic when she fell in love with Lantis's brother.

Tatra wasn't the only one who was so perceptive, either. He had forgotten how good Geo was at that sport.

"Is it because of your _real_ reason for becoming the Pillar?"

Eagle decided that he was not going to answer the question and turned away, heading in the direction he had been going before he allowed himself to be stopped.

This time, the force that stopped him was not anything of his own, but Geo's persistence. His strong hand grasped his shoulder and gently forced Eagle around. He stared at Geo defiantly. He did not want this.

"Eagle, please, just answer the question--"

"I don't want to."

Geo stared at him for a long moment, astonished by the answer. He then sighed and dropped his head and exasperation. "_Please_. If you go, I don't want--" He paused and exhaled a great breath. "I don't want any lies--" He paused again. "I don't want any _secrets_ to be in between us when --_if_-- you go. Leave."

"There's no need to be so diplomatic," said Eagle, hoping he didn't sound _too_ cold. He was, in a reminiscent sort of way, amused by Geo's slips and attempts to cover them up.

_I will miss this_.

"Eagle, I--"

Eagle shook his head. "No. I can't tell you."

Geo's face darkened. "You said that our friendship was already ruined a while back. I'm believing it more and more now. If you look at it that way, then there will be no harm in telling me. So _please_."

"Would you denounce our friendship to find out my true motives?"

"Eagle, I would do _anything_ for you."

Beyond Geo's side, Eagle saw Tatra turn her head down sadly. He bit his lip, having no immediate response. It was a lot like that time when Eagle explained the "fake" battle plans to Geo--

_"Ever since I joined your side, I put my life in your hands. Do what you want. I'll follow you no matter what."_

Eagle shook his head to rid himself of those words. "Geo, I don't deserve your loyalty. Give it to somebody who does."

With a slight nod to Tatra, who stiffened in surprise, he turned away and walked away again.

"Eagle, wait," Geo called again. "I need to know. Is it so horrible that you can't tell me?"

Eagle stopped but did not turn around. He sighed. "Yes."

"I won't hate you--"

"It's not _me_ I'm afraid you're going to hate, even though I know we would no longer be friends if I told you why I want to become Pillar."

Eagle began walking again with a reassurance that Geo would not stop him again. He hoped that it would be plentiful to keep him quiet so that he may never have to tell him the real reason. There would be so much less tension if Geo knew nothing more than what Eagle had revealed to him.

However, Geo was too perceptive for Eagle's liking.

"It's for Lantis, isn't it?"

Eagle halted in mid-stride, his head shooting up and his eyes flying wide open. _How...?_

"It's for Lantis, isn't it?" Geo asked again, anger seeping through his voice.

Eagle clenched his fists and shut his eyes tight and began walking again. He could not tell Geo the truth. He could not tell Geo his real intentions behind the invasion. He could not tell Geo that he was right.

"Your actions are confirming Geo-san's theory," said Tatra, and that was all Eagle needed to finally turn back around.

The sight astonished him, and his mouth hung ajar. Despite what Geo's tone had sounded earlier, he wasn't truly angry. His head was cast down, but Eagle could see that his features were twisted into agony, and he refused to even look at him. His otherwise casually stiff composure was sulked, vulnerable, and weak; it was nothing that Geo was supposed to be.

Tatra stared at Eagle mournfully. "Is Lantis another friend of yours?"

He slowly nodded. Tatra cast a glance towards Geo, and then turned her head down for a moment before bringing it back up to face Eagle.

"He is not from Autozam?"

Eagle shook his head. "From Cephiro," he answered.

"That's how you know about the Pillar."

Eagle nodded again. Tatra opened her mouth again, but immediately clamped it shut. Apparently, she didn't want to ask anything more that could possibly offend Geo.

She turned towards him and whispered something to him. Geo turned away and muttered something in return, which only increased the trouble written in her face. Eagle could no longer take it; was the sinking feeling he felt really the result of a friendship falling apart?

"I'm sorry, Geo," Eagle said softly, and for the last time that night, turned and ran down the corridor, doing everything within his power to push the memory into the darkest part of his heart that would never see the light of day again.

* * *

Tarta knew better than to make her presence known to the three. She had nothing intelligent to say, and by the words and actions of her elder sister and the _other_ Autozamian, violence was not what they wanted to do to the commander, and that was all Tarta would be able to contribute to, even if it would be against her will.

When Eagle was finally able to leave without either Tatra or Geo stopping him, Tarta slowly took a small step into the main hallway to get a better view of what was going on.

It wasn't anything pretty.

The sub-commander had leaned over the wall with his forearm as a pillow for his forehead, and his eyes closed in a disturbingly gloomy manner. His posture was no longer one of nobility, rigid and proud, but almost like a commoner's worn-out, casual slump. His fists were loosened, and his other arm limped by his side.

When Tatra noticed this movement, she approached him silently and gracefully despite her troubled expression and placed her palm on his shoulder.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Tarta scowled at her sister's idiocy; what kind of question was _that_? Even if Tarta didn't care about him in the slightest, it didn't stop her from noticing that Geo was anything _but_ all right!

He only answered with a small sigh.

He certainly was acting uncharacteristically, from the small knowledge Tarta knew about him.

"I should have known," he muttered as his fists clenched into a tight brown ball. "The hints were there. How could I have missed it?"

Tatra hesitated, apparently not knowing how to answer that. Well, of course she wouldn't know; how was she supposed to when she had only met Geo only a few hours ago? And Tatra certainly hadn't been on the NSX before Autozam declared war on Chizeta and Fahren. She didn't know what had happened on that battleship.

_Okay. No wonder Neesan is so attracted to him_, Tarta thought bitterly. _They're BOTH idiots, asking impossible questions_.

"May I ask," Tatra began quietly, "who Lantis is?"

"A friend. Or, he _was_ a friend until Eagle decided to invade his country. Lantis is from Cephiro, you see. And, at least, I thought he was an ex-friend since Eagle decided to invade Cephiro until just now."

"Did you two get along?"

Geo shifted so that his back was against the wall, but his lax position never faltered. "I don't know. We definitely didn't at first; we're completely opposite from each other. He was always so serious and brooding, and almost never spoke a word unless he was only with Eagle. And, me, well, you should know. I was anything _but_."

It took everything in Tarta's power to keep from saying, _Well, you're surely acting like him now_.

"Opposites attract," Tatra replied with an obvious smile on her face. "But when two people are _too_ opposite, nothing can go right in their relationship. However--" Tatra's tone turned solemn. "--there were more reasons than just personality, was there not?"

Geo laughed bitterly. "I forget how intelligent you are."

_So do I_.

"So there were more reasons?"

He sighed. "Yes."

"May I ask what they were?"

"Are you trying to figure something out? Like why I'm not stopping Eagle right now?"

"Well... now that you mention it, that as well as why you suddenly became so upset and angry at the mere thought of Eagle-san's reason for wanting to become Pillar for Lantis."

He sighed again, but said nothing and only closed his eyes.

"Did it have to do with your past with him?" Tatra asked.

"I hope you aren't thinking up of honorable excuses for my behavior," Geo snapped. "It's nothing of the sort. I was never in the right and he in the wrong, nor that I thought that Lantis was a bad role model for Eagle. Rather, I think that Eagle was a good role model for Lantis. Lantis and I did manage to get along after he stayed in Autozam for about a couple of months."

"But he befriended Eagle-san first."

"Eagle _and_ Zazu at the same time, practically. But the thing is, he trusted Eagle more than he ever did either Zazu or myself... and likewise for Eagle." He slumped to the ground and held his head with both his hands. "You might say... that I'm jealous."

Tarta blinked, and she was certain that her sister had done the same thing. What person of nobility in their right mind would say something that would put himself in the wrong for his actions? What person of nobility would admit that his reasons for getting upset were not of anything of honor, but because of his true emotions? What person of nobility would _tell the truth_ to someone who is nothing like him and had only met that person a short while ago?

Unless there was something about this particular sub-commander that Tarta knew absolutely nothing about.

"You're jealous that Eagle-san would choose him over you? That he would rather sacrifice himself for him rather than you?"

Geo shook his head. "I wouldn't want Eagle to throw his life away for me like I did for him. That would ruin the entire purpose."

"So why...?"

"It's probably just a grudge thing." He turned his head up and smiled at Tatra. "Don't worry about it. It might take Eagle a long time to figure out how to get out of here, and an even longer time to realize what we did with his FTO. And by now, unless Zazu decided to take a break and get some rest, the passwords to the fighter mecha should be cracked. I'm not worried."

"Liar."

Tarta hid a smile. _Exactly what was on my mind, Neesan_.

"You're still a nice man," she continued, placing her hands on the sides of his face as she knelt down to be face-to-face with him.

_That wasn't on my mind_.

"You don't want him to die, and you think that he's smart enough to figure everything out within time. You still wish to do anything to keep him alive?"

Geo slowly nodded. "Yes."

"If only more men like you existed," Tatra said quietly and gently wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a small embrace.

Tarta blinked and frowned. She quickly hid herself back on the other side of the corner and headed down the hallway back to the _centre_.

She had been afraid of her sister befriending the men of Autozam, but she never expected _this_. She never expected her sister being so gentle, so kind, so sweet to them, and she momentarily wondered what the sub-commander had done to brainwash her sister.

Tatra was heir to the throne of Chizeta.

She could not afford to fall in love with a foreigner.

* * *

To be continued...


	6. Chapter Five: The Spark Between Seasons

**ECHOES OF DESTINY:  
Chapter Five: The Spark Between Seasons**

**Bearit's Notes**: Well, it's long overdue to answer some questions that the readers have had... and I guess I'll answer them now, since I have nothing to really say other than that Zazu returns and Chang Ang makes a comeback.

_Firestorm-244_: The difference between Mixx's translations and the original Japanese... well, I guess the biggest thing is that I can get a better feel for the character's personalities in the original Japanese. Eagle is a very, very polite man. Geo actually _does_ talk like he's tough, but we all know that he isn't. (Oh, and Zazu has a more masculine speech pattern than Eagle...) It's easier to see and know when Tarta gets into her Osaka accent, and Aska adds a cute "no ja" at the end of her sentences. So, yeah, through their speech patterns, I can get a better feel for the characters, therefore, the original Japanese is better. Eh-heh. There are also many other reasons, but I don't feel like ranting right now.

_albert the loser_: The titles for the chapters all, as you may have noticed, relate to seasons. It gives off what will happen in the chapter of the significance of the chapter--reading in between the lines, if you will. For example, autumn is the season when leaves changes colors and the whole atmosphere of fresh and green and utopia die down with autumn. Dramatic Autumn indicates the change of events from what really happened in the manga to what happens in this fic. I hope it answers your question!

And here's the fic, before the author notes is longer than the chapter itself.

* * *

After running between the NSX and the Dome about eight times to finally put the FTO back into at least a half-decent shape, Zazu realized how tired and hungry he was and graciously accepted an invitation to eat some food from Fahren. That was all he would impose on the Royal Family, so after dinner he left for the NSX to get some rest.

Unfortunately, he did not sleep very long, despite how exhausted he felt. After lying in bed for the longest half an hour ever, he decided that while he was awake, he might as well get some work done.

So for the past hour or so, he kept himself occupied with tweaking the wirings of the controls on the bridge to get the fighter mechas unlocked. He wasn't a computer hacker, after all; Geo knew that, so why did he ask Zazu to figure out the password? It was almost a pity they hadn't brought along one of Zazu's brothers who was an excellent hacker, but then again, Zazu was one of the only people in his family to be completely affiliated with the army.

He sighed and dropped his pliers to the metal floor. He was too tired to do a job as simple as rewiring.

_Bright news: at least I'm starting to get tired_, he thought, climbing out from beneath the open panels and subconsciously typing random keys on the console.

Zazu glanced out the large windows of the NSX and stared at the Bravada. Everyone had to be asleep at this hour, and he wondered what Geo was doing on the mobile fortress for as long as he was. With a small chuckle to himself, he wondered if he had fallen for one of the princesses, but when his mind wandered a little too far, he blushed, coughed, and moved his thoughts elsewhere.

What irritated him the most about everything that had been going on was that he was now thoroughly convinced that no matter how many times Eagle and Geo had reassured him that they judged people based on their skills and personalities and not their age, they truly were biased against teenagers. Never mind that Eagle was only less than a year off from becoming a true, legal adult in Autozam and was the youngest commander that Autozam had ever promoted; there was no way that he trusted Zazu fully with anything. Being his best friend and sub-commander aside, no wonder Eagle only trusted Geo with loads of information about the mission.

And it wasn't as if Geo was any better. Yes, Zazu knew about the Audi TT and he probably should have trusted Geo with Eagle's disease, but Geo had the right to do likewise. It wasn't, after all, as if Geo refused to give Zazu full information about what had been going on only a few hours ago because it really wasn't his place to say (to which Zazu asked, "If it isn't his place, then whose is it?"), but it was more likely because he didn't trust Zazu to take the news logically enough to handle the situation. He wasn't a wailing teenage _girl_; he knew how to take serious issues realistically and not overdo his emotions.

Also, sure, Eagle and Geo may be commanders and it was their duty to handle diplomatic issues, but why was it that every single time they did so, they ushered Zazu away from the bridge or managed to find him something "constructive" to do?

Yeah. The three of them were _really_ close friends. Right. It wasn't about trust anymore for Zazu; it was about the stupid age difference!

Just as he was about to give up with the password combination and close up the panels for the night so he could finally get some rest--after all, he felt like he could get some sleep now--the computer beeped wildly at him, and his eyes glanced at the olive screen.

He blinked.

Password Disclosed.

He grinned tiredly. "Well, it's about time. Let's see what it is, then..."

After punching in a few more keys, the password popped up on the console, and it took Zazu a while for the words to register in his head. When it did, his eyes widened and his jaw fell ajar.

Yurushite Kudasai.

"What the..." Zazu breathed. "'Please forgive me?' But that's--is this what Eagle changed the password to?"

There was absolutely no possibility that it could have been a randomly chosen phrase. In that case, it would be something patriotic or simple yet hard to figure out, like an obscure vocabulary word that students would learn once and forget for the rest of their lives.

Was Eagle apologizing for keeping such horrible secrets from Geo and Zazu...?

Or, because _everyone_ onboard the NSX knew that Geo's forte was commanding and piloting, not having anything to do with computers and that Zazu was the only capable person of getting into anything...

Zazu shook his head. That was too far-fetched.

Then what was Eagle apologizing for...?

From the corner of his eye, he noticed a bright ruby light flashing from the security computers, and out of curiosity and hope that Geo had returned, he hopped over the commanding bridge onto the operations level and peeked at the television. Most bridge members had gone off to bed, and the security officer had left to get something to eat. Zazu didn't know how long he had been gone, but it didn't matter anymore.

For when Zazu watched the screen, he noticed that the transport that Geo had taken with him to the Bravada had recently arrived to the Dome.

Didn't Geo say that he was going to spend the night on the Bravada?

Unless...

"It can't be!" he shouted and ran back to the commanding bridge.

The communications screen was blank with only one message:

I'm sorry.

Zazu gritted his teeth. "Eagle, what the hell is going on?" he demanded, but the only answer he received was the sounds of the FTO taking off into Cephiro's airspace.

"Geo, when you get back here, you are going to _die_," Zazu hissed and hastily contacted the Dome.

* * *

Chang Ang listened to the desperate cries of the young mechanic from Autozam intently and calmly. He had noticed the commander's escape from the Bravada as well and had been about to contact the NSX with the news when a couple of handmaidens came to ask about the meals; there was only enough food for less than two days for just the royal family and less than a day for everyone onboard. Chang Ang promptly waved them off, telling them he had greater worries at the moment, and when he turned back to the crystal ball, the giant robot had left the bay of the Dome.

Chang Ang had to compliment the commander; he was very quick for someone who was supposed to be in an ailment. It was a pity that Chang Ang had no time to put up a stronger shield to prevent him from coming inside the Dome.

"I understand," Chang Ang answered. "I will try my best to stop him."

The young mechanic looked sheepish. "If it's not any trouble, could you make sure that you don't hurt the mecha?"

Chang Ang smiled. "I will be sure not to. Lady Aska will not be using any of her magic for at least another week, and I certainly have no intent to go to drastic measures."

"I don't expect you to; I have a feeling that Geo _let_ this happen."

"Now, why would he do that?"

"That's something you'll have to ask him, sir."

The elderly man sighed as he waved his hand to switch off the communication link. "I will do my best."

_Even if the only effective way I can think of to stop the persistent man is most likely going to fail._

Talking certainly had its many disadvantages, but no other way would work. Forcing him to stop would not deter him from continuing to go out and do whatever he was planning to do to get the Pillar, and it would soon turn into something like a game. One winner would walk away with the prize, while the other had to continue to win in order to gain victory. A conversation--a persuasive conversation--was the only thing that would work.

Chang Ang cast a small spell, but in the sphere only darkness appeared. Either the mechanic had neglected to repair the visual communications or the commander refused to be seen. It didn't matter; as long as there was audio, Chang Ang would be satisfied.

"I am correct in assuming that I am speaking to the commander, Eagle Vision," he began slowly. He received no answer. "I am Chang Ang, royal adviser and great uncle to the Lady Aska of Fahren. I am curious; how did you manage to get past the barriers?"

Silence.

"That is not important, I suppose. However, I also wonder how you managed to escape the Bravada. I heard that the royal guards are formidable opponents."

"The royal guards were off-duty."

Chang Ang smiled at the response. "I heard that the princesses were also well trained in physical combat."

"They let me past."

He frowned. Would the princesses of Chizeta really do such a thing when they had made a promise to the sub-commander? "May I ask why?"

The commander hesitated. "It's... not easy to explain."

"I would not imagine that they would shed off their loyal words to your sub-commander so quickly and easily."

His voice grew darker. "Please do not assume things. That is not what happened. It is not as simple as that I asked to leave and they permitted me to do so; I argued down one princess and the other was left with... other business to attend to."

"And what of your sub-commander? From his looks, I assume that he will refuse to let you past."

The commander sighed. "With all due respect, Geo's appearance does not match his personality. I see that you have all planned this out carefully to make sure that I would not attempt to try to gain the Pillar again."

"We have. I am surprised that you figured out that your robot was not on your battleship."

"It was too obvious. I knew that he would go to any lengths to make sure that I would not go anywhere and that he would try to fool me. Putting the FTO on the NSX would be unintelligent; leaving it on the Bravada would make it too easy for me to escape; so, apparently, the Dome is the only place where it would be located."

"How did you get past the barriers?"

"Autozam's technology is stronger than magic."

"And yet I was also able to make contact with you," Chang Ang pointed out, to which the commander refused to answer after a short while of waiting. "Did you allow me to talk to you?"

The commander sighed but did not respond.

"Did you allow me to make contact with you and to speak to you?" he asked again.

"I..." the commander said, and hesitated."I... need you to give a message to Geo. I doubt that we'll ever be able to talk again."

"You have low faith."

"No. I actually have full confidence in myself."

"So, you really are willing to die."

The commander laughed softly. "I see this is a big topic among all of you. Princess Tatra had asked me the exact same thing a little while ago, and Geo even challenged me on it."

"He wants to save your life."

"I know. It's not that I have any regrets about my decision--I just... believe that I should get rid of one more obstacle."

Chang Ang frowned. "I disagree with how you are approaching this. Can you not talk with him face to face?"

"I-- we already tried that."

He sighed. "Very well then. Tell me what you wish to tell your... friend."

* * *

Geo sat on a step of one of the staircases adjoining the platform, which the sisters called the _centre_, to the scenic bottom level of the Bravada, his elbows on his knees and his head down so that his eyes studied the granite tiling of the step below him. His mind, however, wandered elsewhere.

Tatra, who stood atop the balcony addressing the speaker below in the magic pool, called, "Geo-san, did you hear--"

"Yes."

Geo could feel Tatra frowning. She hesitated, for one thing, before she said, "Thank you, Chang Ang-san."

"I am terribly sorry," the elderly man replied.

"No. Don't worry about it. There was nothing you could have done," Geo replied, his eyes slipping closed.

Quietly, to himself, he muttered, "There was nothing anybody could have done."

Distantly, he heard Tatra bid the Fahren man farewell. He blocked out all sound afterward, allowing himself to be eaten up by his own turmoil. He slowly opened his eyes but never lifted his head.

He knew that Eagle never wanted to invade Cephiro for Autozam's sake. Somehow, he knew. There were just too many other things going on when Eagle told his father about the Pillar System for Eagle to be determined enough to save their country from the permeating pollution. Probably the main thing Geo noticed throughout the entire invasion was how Eagle reacted to the topic of Lantis. He would get a little down, but his soul would clamber back and beyond, higher than it had ever been before then. And Geo did not suspect; somehow, he knew that Eagle was invading for Lantis's sake.

But why Lantis? Could there have been more to their relationship than what met the eye?

And would Lantis even approve of Eagle's intentions to die for his sake? It would be through either one of two ways: actually physically dying in the attempt to gain the Pillar, or emotionally dying if he managed to become the Pillar. Either way, Geo doubted that Lantis would agree with it anymore than he did.

So why? Why was Eagle doing this for Lantis? Could he have been just as suicidal?

Lantis had never struck Geo as a suicidal person. It didn't make sense.

But what other explanation could there have been?

_"Thank you for everything."_ was Eagle's message to Geo. _"But this is for the better. I hope you never see our friendship as a waste, but if you do... it was for the better, anyway."_

"For whose sake?" he muttered. He shut his eyes again in an attempt to clear his mind.

"Geo-san?" A soft hand gently touched his shoulder. Geo looked up to his Tatra staring at him, concerned, and he sighed.

"I don't know how to react to all of this. I... don't want to lose him. I can't lose him."

Tatra shook her head. "I cannot help you. It is for you to decide."

Geo nodded and turned away. "I know... but I can't let him die. He can't expect me to just let him die! I don't care if he wants it... I don't care about the Audi TT or anything like that. He knows he's going to... die... but... I can't stand for him to throw away his life like that. I was not brought up to let my best friend do that."

"So do you think that maybe you should stop him? Are you sure?"

"If it's the only way. I can't lose him, but I'd rather... I don't care if he loses me, I don't want to lose him. I need to go out there." He stood up, fists clenched with determination. "I will stop him no matter what."

Geo turned to leave, and Tatra jumped to her feet and grabbed his arm. He turned around and saw a panicky princess, desperate to not lose someone very important in her life. Seeing that, his heart nearly stopped, and the pleading tone in her voice was enough to make him want to sit down again:

"Even if it means your own life?"

And, then, Geo saw in Tatra somebody familiar, someone he only came fully face-to-face with not so long ago. It was his first true moment of empathy, and he wanted to turn around and let Eagle do his own wishes so that at least one person would be happy. But he knew what he had to do, so he inhaled deeply and sharply and slowly nodded.

Tatra widened her eyes in mournful surprise. Geo slowly backed away, his heart wanting to apologize but his mouth refusing him the opportunity. Giving up, he turned around and jogged to the hangar of the Bravada as he quickly contacted Zazu to make sure that the GTO was ready to fly.

He had subconsciously felt his heart shatter when he let her go...

* * *

To be continued...


	7. Chapter Six: An Overrated Summer

**ECHOES OF DESTINY:  
Chapter Six: An Overrated Summer**

**Bearit's Notes**: I'm going to say this right now: SPOILERS for the manga! While this _is_ an AU fic, certain elements have remained the same. I've also incorporated some ideas from the anime in here. Proceed at your own risk. (Eh-heh... it's been a while for "Yozora no Mukou," hasn't it? The next chapter will be up sometime this month. Sorry. ;)

* * *

The Creator was upset.

Hardly ever was there a time when His disciples, His creations, had made far more accurate predictions that He ever had, and now that They had proven themselves to be right, He was upset.

"How did a new candidate arise so suddenly? HOW?!" He bellowed.

Windam sighed. "We warned You. We told You."

"Maybe We should have shown Him," offered Selece.

The Creator grumbled, "I should have seen it for Myself. It was no fault of Yours, _Mashin_. But how did a candidate arise like this, and so suddenly?"

"I would not jump to conclusions like this if I were You," said Rayearth. "Selece, Windam, the Magic Knights may call upon Us soon. We must be in a position where they can easily reach Us."

"Agreed."

When the three _Mashin_ disappeared, the Creator sighed and moaned, "I never meant for this to happen. I hope Rayearth is right; I hope I am overreacting."

And He returned to His state as Mokona.

* * *

Eagle knew that the only way to avoid any further interruptions, he had to hide. Luckily the FTO had a built-in stealth device, or else it would be difficult to find a suitable time and place to get some rest. As much as he hated to admit it, he was exhausted from the past many hours of fighting both verbally and physically, and he wished to avoid the challenge of his emotional altercations; sleep was the only way he could get it. He knew he took a great risk by doing so, for this time, if he did fall into an eternal sleep, nobody would be there to snap him out of it. By the time they discovered him, it would be too late.

But he needed the Pillar system, and he could not let himself lose it because he chose sleep.

Regardless, he needed to land the FTO someplace so he could recollect himself and go over his plans for gaining the Pillar system. Lantis had said that there was a certain road for the testing; perhaps if he tried to find that?

He shook his head. His mind could not wander now. He had to attend to the matter at hand: hiding.

"Eagle!"

He stopped the FTO's flight and turned the giant mecha around to see a sleek, olive robot stop in mid-air only half a battleship's distance from the other.

"Geo?"

The communication system Eagle had set up only allowed for audio conversations; video had no part in it, so he could not see his companion's face. But he knew it had to be him; Geo would never let anybody else touch his GTO unless that person managed to do it while his back was turned. _Much like what Lantis did only a few months ago_, Eagle remembered the fond memory bitterly.

"I see Zazu has broken the new code," said Eagle as cheerfully as he could muster. Geo was far from amused.

"I'm not going to let you do this."

Eagle shook his head and sighed. "Geo, you say that as if there was a choice in all of this--"

"Isn't there? I thought Lantis called this place a land of will, not a land of fate."

"It's more complicated than that."

"I don't believe that. You want to become the Pillar. I don't want you to. And I will make sure that you don't through any means necessary."

"Even if it means killing me?"

"Eagle, I'm doing this to save your life. What's the point in everything if I kill you?"

"What's the point in everything if killing me was the only way I will ever be stopped?"

Geo hesitated. Eagle closed his eyes.

"I'm going to die anyway," he muttered.

Geo's angry voice responded, "No, you won't. From the sounds of it, if you become Pillar, you will die. That almost makes me wonder what you're going to do with the Pillar once you have it. What _are _you going to do? Wish what you will with Lantis and then kill yourself, thus killing Cephiro? That sounds like a grand plan to me. I'm sure the people of this country will be thrilled."

Eagle shook his head, his eyes opening into narrow slits. He resisted the urge to grin at Geo's sarcasm, which had been next to nonexistent in the past. "That's not it," he answered.

"Then what? Enlighten me."

Eagle didn't answer for a while as he debated the consequences of telling Geo everything, much less even a portion of it. He soon decided that, if Geo was so adamant on the subject of death, why not expand further on it and not talk about anything else?

"If I fail to receive the Pillar, I will fall into eternal sleep. Nothing can stop that, no matter how many times you jolt me awake. It's the same even if I do become Pillar, because I cannot take care of myself before I take care of the country. I take care of the country by allowing myself to fall into an eternal sleep."

"So, you choose to throw your life away either way," said Geo slowly, dangerously. Eagle nodded. "And what is Lantis's role in all of this?"

That Eagle refused to answer. "I know you're upset because my goals are not what you previously thought. I know that you're upset because I refuse to help Autozam's pollution through my becoming Pillar, and I know that you cannot stand the fact that I choose to do this for Lantis's sake rather than Autozam's."

"While you did lie to me, I'm more upset that you choose to die sooner rather than later."

"I'd rather die honorably than like an old man."

A metal slam rang through the communicator, and Geo growled, "You think _this_ is honorable?!"

"You think it would be more so if I had chosen to do this for your sake?"

Pause. Geo then laughed bitterly. "It'd be less honorable if you did it for my sake. I'm not worth your trouble."

"So, then, why do you insist on stopping me?"

"Because isn't that what friends are supposed to do? Stop each other from making stupid mistakes?"

"That never stopped you from coming along with me on the invasion even though you thought it was sleazy, that we were betraying Lantis by doing this."

"The stupid mistake I'm referring to is your getting yourself killed. All the others I'll come to accept someday; I would never forgive myself if I let you die despite your own reasoning, no matter how 'good' or 'honorable' it may sound."

Eagle sighed. "If I recall correctly, I remember that you told me that you would follow my orders no matter what?"

"Letting you die was never part of the deal. And I said that I would follow you no matter what, and damn it, I'm going to live up to that promise!"

Eagle blinked at Geo's words. Could he have possibly meant...?

"So, if I die, you would die, too? Isn't that hypocritical of you?"

"Your life is worth more than mine. It's as simple as that. So I can_not_ let you kill yourself, and I'm dedicating myself to make sure that you will not. And if becoming Pillar means that you die, then I will stop you from becoming the Pillar of Cephiro. I promise you that."

Eagle chuckled at the irony, a thought popping into his head. "Even if it means that you must become the Pillar yourself?"

There was another pause. Eagle frowned, almost immediately regretting his words and wishing he could have taken back what he said just as soon as Geo answered:

"Yes."

Eagle stared at the intimidating mecha for a while, his mouth hung open ajar and his eyes widened as if earning to grasp the tips of his ears. He knew what this meant. He knew that if he had to fight Lantis before because of the competition he would be up against, knowing that they would have to battle eventually, he would have to do the same with Geo. Geo was willing to become the Pillar for Eagle's sake.

He had to do what he must. He narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly.

"Very well then."

And he attacked.

* * *

The white fighter's flight did not go unnoticed by the people within the palace. The citizens stood agape at the sight of it, murmuring speculations about its purpose. Some went hysterical, certain that the palace was about to suffer from an attack; others went about their own business. Mokona followed the three Magic Knights to one of the windows where they could better see the proceedings, and when they noticed another fighter approach the white one, the three girls wondered what in the world was going on.

Mokona seemed oblivious, but the Creator knew, and He could hear the two fighters' conversation.

He wished that He could communicate with the _Mashin_, for Their guidance was greatly desired. He could see into both of the men's hearts, and he saw something he never wished to see.

A fourth candidate had arisen.

Mokona muttered, "Puu."

The Creator shrieked, "This -- _wasn't_ -- _supposed_ -- to -- _happen_!"

* * *

Lantis's heart fell in dismay. It was too unreal to see the FTO and GTO fighting in real combat where one could actually destroy or cripple the other far beyond repair. Besides being absolutely clueless as to what had happened in the previous battle between the NSX and the other two mobiles of Chizeta and Fahren and the aftermath of that, he knew not what altercation could have happened between the two best friends that would cause them to want to murder the other.

No, that couldn't be it. Surely it had to be a brawl of some sort, for it was the only type of fighting he had known Eagle to take up.

He heard Clef and Ferio and Lafarga and Presea all wonder what was going on, and he knew that they fully expected him to answer the question. Lantis would if he could; all that he could offer was a cold shoulder as he sought out a more peaceful place to watch and wonder, someplace where he could easily go out into the wide open when he needed to. It was inevitable; if he wanted to save the life of either Eagle or Geo, he would have to interfere with the battle when conditions begin to show even the slightest bit that everything was about to get out of hand.

Maybe then he could finally figure out what had happened.

Primera followed Lantis as he stormed towards one of the higher level doors of the palace. Ironically enough, the three Magic Knights had chosen to watch from that spot as well. That would explain why they were not with the others in the throne room, but at the same time, why were they at the open entryway instead of the throne room?

Lantis's eye caught the small, white, fluffy creature in the Fire Knights' arms. Somehow, seeing it there was enough to answer all of his questions about the Knights.

Primera gasped when she saw the girls standing there, watching the battle intently albeit bewilderedly, and when Lantis did not halt his footsteps, she pouted.

"Why are you going over _there_?" she demanded. Lantis refused to answer. She grumbled something under her breath but continued anyway. She had no good arguments to make him turn around; besides, she must have been intrigued with the battle enough to merely only follow him to where the girls were standing without further protest.

The Fire Knight was the first to notice him, and she let out a small shout of surprise and astonishment. The other two glanced his way, but silence ensued as all six (Lantis decided to include the odd creature) continued to watch.

As blurs of green and white flashed through the darkened sky and bright blue beams fired between the two, Lantis saw that despite what many have begun to assume in the throne room before he stormed out, the fighting was definitely no act. The FTO was quick to dodge most of the attacks, and the GTO had suffered much damage, being the slower mecha. It was more powerful, which was why both fighters looked like they suffered equal damages, but it was all very real.

"Lantis," the Water Knight began slowly, her eyes still focused on the battle, "they said that you came from Autozam--"

The Fire Knight gasped, "Umi-chan!"

"So, I was just wondering, do you, by chance--"

"I know those two men fighting, yes, but I do not know why they are fighting," answered Lantis, deciding to get it all over with quickly. The Water Knight snapped her head towards him, baffled, probably because he had certainly answered the questions she was about to ask.

"One of them is Eagle, isn't it?" asked the Fire Knight sheepishly. Lantis nodded. "Is the other his friend?"

Lantis hesitated before answering. Was Geo still Eagle's friend, or had the circumstances the past several hours changed everything? But there was no way their friendship could have been damaged in _that_ short of time!

He slowly nodded again.

"Then why are they fighting?"

Lantis didn't answer, and the redheaded girl averted her eyes towards the ground. She pulled her head away from the creature in her hands, and since it was something he couldn't miss, Lantis turned to see what had happened.

The red orb on the forehead of the creature was yellow.

He blinked.

* * *

"Selece, Windam, I do believe that the Creator has finally decided to open the Path," Rayearth announced.

Selece and Windam, in Their _Mashin_ form, glanced His way nervously. "What do You propose that We do?" asked Windam. "The Knights cannot be involved in the Testing, can they?"

"They may call upon Us," said Selece. "I believe that is what Rayearth is trying to say."

"Hikaru has to be out there, for she is a candidate."

Selece and Windam gaped. Rayearth slowly nodded.

"I suppose that to lessen the suspicion, the Creator may want all three girls to be out there as well. We have to tell them that they must fight."

"Even though they really will not?" asked Selece.

"That is the Creator's plan."

"Who are the other candidates?" asked Windam. "We know Your Knight, possibly the Autozam commander, maybe even the magic swordsman--"

"And the sub-commander from Autozam," Rayearth replied. The other two were at a loss for words. Rayearth continued, "We must get Our Knights to call upon Us as soon as possible."

* * *

The three Knights departed from the palace and had called upon their legendary _Mashin_, perhaps in response to something that Lantis missed, or maybe to protect the palace if the two should attack at any given point--or if one fell and the other decided to ambush. Either way, Lantis knew that he had to go out there, because to his dismay, things were beginning to look nasty.

He didn't care if the friendship was lost among the four. He could not stand by and let somebody he cared about be killed by someone else he loved.

Lantis called upon his _seijyuu_. Primera stared at him disapprovingly as he mounted the black horse.

"What's the point of going out there?" she demanded. He glared at her, indicating to her that she needed to follow, and she sighed. "They're just going to be suspicious of you again."

"Puu!" the white creature cried, and Primera turned to it.

"You stay out of this!"

Lantis stared at the white ball of fluff, whose red orb had returned to its ruby state. The normal humps of its eye creased with excitement and anxiety, and its tiny arms reached out to Lantis as if begging to go along.

Lantis frowned. What did this creature know that everybody else didn't? He sighed.

"Get on," he said, and the creature immediately jumped at almost an impossible height for its size.

"WHAT?!" Primera shrieked, annoyed, but when Lantis commanded the horse to head towards the battlefield, Primera wailed and chased after him immediately.

The Creator, choosing a comfy seat on the neck of the _seijyuu_ created by the magic swordsman, saw that everything was now into position. Everything was almost the same; the only difference was instead of three candidates, there were four.

"Now to choose the more worthy," He announced to the three _Mashin_. "It is now time. The Path to the Pillar will now open."

* * *

To Be Continued...


	8. Chapter Seven: The Drought

**ECHOES OF DESTINY:  
Chapter Seven: The Drought**

**Bearit's Notes**: Almost... finished... with this fic...! This is actually the last chapter, but don't worry! The epilogue will close most everything. Yes, the epilogue. A fic of mine with a prologue must have an epilogue, remember that. Enjoy!

* * *

Tarta wished that she could say that she knew what had to be done, but she only knew of what they could not do. They had to do something; they could not stand and watch the fight helplessly. They could turn their backs and head home, or they could go about their own business, or they could even somehow try to persuade the two battling men to stop. Unfortunately, the two sisters did what they should not do. They watched.

Many handmaidens and guards stood in the _centre_ nervously, coughing every now and then or tugging on their attire as if it had too many wrinkles for proper royal aides. Tarta glanced at them every now and then, and the handmaidens often turned away sheepishly. The guards kept sturdy eye contact, though the princess could see in them apprehension and uncertainty. She gave them all a weak smile; many gasped softly or widened their eyes. Royalty never sympathized with their servants.

It could not be helped, for when Tarta only caught glimpses of her immediate subjects or had glanced at them without them ever noticing, they all stared at Tatra. The elder princess stood almost directly in front of the window that showed the fight, her head high and her hands resting delicately on the golden railing that separated the mock throne from the pool and the window. Tarta could not see her face, for she had her back turned from her, but she could imagine what was going through her mind.

Many times Tarta tried to speak to her sister, and many times she silenced herself. Many times she mulled over her words, and many times they sounded weak and tactless. Many times she wanted to ask questions that any other time she would not be afraid to ask; many times she asked why she could not ask those questions even then.

The silence unsettled the servants, which was why Tarta wanted to say something to comfort them even if the words she said did not comfort her sister.

Well, she could not please everybody.

Tatra bowed her head as if inspecting the rails to make sure there were no scratches. Tarta quickly jumped on the opportunity to make small talk although she knew not what to say.

"Neesan--"

The elder sister cut her off. "I--" she began and hesitated. Tarta frowned. "I am going out there."

The servants stirred amongst themselves, and Tarta widened her eyes. "What? What do you mean?"

"I mean that I am sending my Djinn out there," said Tatra as she turned around to face Tarta. Her eyes clouded with thunderous determination. "I will not let either of them die."

Tarta shook her head. "But--"

"I cannot do it alone. I'm going to need your help."

"Why?"

Tatra sighed and closed her eyes. "Those two robots are too strong for just one Djinn. I cannot--"

"That's not what I meant. Why do you want to save their lives? We both know that they're willing to die for both of their causes. You can't possibly mean to interfere."

"I do."

Tarta bit her lip. "But--"

"We do not have much time, Tarta."

"But remember what you said?" Tarta blurted out. This was something she had thought about saying, though she didn't know how to word it before; now it seemed all too simple. "Remember when you told me that someone who is willing to die is strong, and that the only person who can beat him is the one who knows his own worth? I don't think one person out of two who knows her own worth is enough to defeat two men who are willing to die."

Tatra smiled and opened her eyes slightly. "I assume you are talking about me as the one who knows her own worth in the world. Tarta, if only did a little searching of your own, you could find your self-worth. It isn't as hard as you would think."

"That's not the point, though. I have a question I've been meaning to ask you before--what if someone knows his own worth but is still willing to die?"

"That is what I have been asking myself lately, though now, I've realized that it is not possible. If he was truly unselfish and he knew his self-worth, he would never have the will to die. He would not want to hurt the people who love him by even discussing it." Tatra sighed again and turned back to the window. "I'm going to send out my Djinn, and I would greatly appreciate it if you did the same."

Tarta hesitated for a moment as she mulled over her sister's words. _'The people who love him.'_

She took a deep breath.

"Neesan... that sub-commander... do you love him?"

Tatra stiffened but only for a moment, but that moment was all that Tarta needed. Anything that flew out of her sister's mouth would be spurious.

"No," Tatra answered, her voice weak and wavering. "He is just a good friend."

"Liar."

"Are you going to send out your Djinn, or...?"

Tarta studied her sister's back for a moment, and then glanced at the screen of the two fighting mechas. The white one was Eagle's, she knew that much, and the green one had to be his friend's. She still had no respect for the sub-commander, but for Eagle...

If Tatra failed, she would be miserable. Tarta could not let that happen.

"Yes."

* * *

Lady Aska had amazing psychic abilities, Sang Yung realized, for she was the one who woke up before anybody else did when everything started to happen. According to Chang Ang, she had rushed from her bedroom to the throne room, demanded to know what was going on and why she wasn't informed of it, and what she could do to help. She was anxious and excited, so Chang Ang awoke Sang Yung to calm her. It didn't work at all, and she didn't calm down until the mechanic begged to be let onboard the Dome.

The NSX's mechanic could no longer stand to be on the battleship, so he had asked the counsel of Fahren if he could stay with them until everything was over. Sang Yung knew the real reason why he could not stand to be on the mobile from Autozam. His friends were on the verge of killing each other, and if Zazu were to watch, he would not be able to do it alone. He needed to be with somebody, anybody, and since he knew Lady Aska and Chang Ang and Sang Yung better than he knew the princesses of Chizeta, he chose to go to the Dome.

Lady Aska immediately invited him over, and he arrived in quite the haste. She could sense his desperation as well as Sang Yung could, and to deny him his wishes would unsettle both of their emotions for the worse. Chang Ang didn't question her decision, and Sang Yung was certain that he felt it necessary that the mechanic be with them.

Although the crystal ball in the middle of the room showed the battle between the two robots, the mechanic had his back turned away from it. He sat on the ground cross-legged, arms folded, and head bent to the ground. He mumbled and grumbled under his breath words that Sang Yung could not catch. After a few seconds or so of trying to figure out what he was saying, Sang Yung turned back towards the crystal ball to watch the fight, but every so often he would continue the motion, wondering what exactly had happened when the sub-commander returned to the NSX that left Zazu so distraught and upset.

Chang Ang and Lady Aska paid no heed to the mechanic's actions, especially after he had promptly told them that he wished not to watch the fight he never thought would happen and so despised. Though, every once in a while Lady Aska did turn her head around to examine the teenager, but it was only for a short moment before she turned her undivided attention back to the fight.

The next major event in the crystal ball that took place surprised the three Dome inhabitants. Under any other circumstances, Lady Aska would have screamed in disgust, but this time, she knew just as well as Sang Yung and perhaps even Chang Ang did that the princesses of Chizeta were trying their best to stop the two maniacs from going to the extreme.

"Djinn?" Lady Aska gasped.

"The both of them are out," Chang Ang said, "and it sure seems to be working."

Indeed, the two Djinn cut through the middle of the fight and floated in between the two robots sturdily, as if they had the supreme authority in the universe. The firing between the robots ceased immediately and did not resume afterwards.

Sang Yung glanced over his shoulder and saw that Zazu had turned around out of curiosity.

"Those are from Chizeta, aren't they?" he asked quietly. Sang Yung nodded as Lady Aska and Chang Ang turned to face the mechanic. Zazu sighed. "I knew it."

Chang Ang and Sang Yung exchanged looks, and Lady Aska frowned and turned back to what was going on.

When Sang Yung did the same, he knew one thing for sure: somehow, the Djinn and the robots were talking. If not that, then arguing. It was then when the four of them noticed that the white robot that the mechanic had worked on and had supposedly been secured in the Dome was sneaking away from the argument. Lady Aska gasped.

"What is he doing?" she wondered aloud.

Zazu then stood up and joined the trio around the ball. He said nothing but watched intently just as the three _Mashin_ of the Legendary Magic Knights joined the robots and the Djinn.

"I need to do something," Lady Aska muttered.

The males turned to her curiously. "What do you mean?" Chang Ang asked.

"I need to do something."

"What can you do, though?" asked Zazu. "I think the fight's over now. There is nothing that has to be done unless you want to stop Eagle from escaping and getting his way."

"That's exactly what I want to do."

"But if you use the Maboroshi Chikara again..!!" Sang Yung protested.

"You're too tired for that," Chang Ang agreed, "and you haven't fully recovered from it. It's dangerous to use ANY spells."

"I don't think the Djinn are enough to stop them, and the _Mashin_ probably doesn't even know what's going on even as much as we do," said Lady Aska. "I have to do something."

Everybody fell silent. Lady Aska surely was a determined type and when she wanted to do something, there was no stopping her. Sang Yung prepared himself for an onslaught of orders from both her and Chang Ang, but the next person who spoke was neither of them.

"You're just obligated," said Zazu. "You see everybody else out there and you think you have to help, too. You want to help, but you don't know how exactly; you want to help because you don't want to be the only one who did nothing."

Lady Aska stared at the ground sheepishly. "Still..."

"I understand. It sucks to be helpless." He hesitated for a moment. "I don't know how it would help... maybe it's a distance thing that would tire you, or maybe just being _out_ there can help in some way. Persuasion or something. If you'd like, I can take a transport out there, and if you want, you can come along."

Sang Yung gaped at the mechanic, and Chang Ang did likewise. Lady Aska stared at him in wonderment, and then smiled brightly.

"Thank you."

"Lady Aska, are you sure about this?" Sang Yung asked. She merely nodded.

"I don't want to be stuck here."

And then, a loud, booming voice as if from the higher skies made an announcement.

* * *

To communicate through the Djinn proved to be challenging, but Tatra knew that violence would not solve anything. She wished not to hurt these men; she only wished to stop them. The only way she knew that could possibly achieve that was to indeed talk with them through a telepathic link (though, they had the luxury of speaking aloud to prevent their thoughts from processing into the other party's minds), although an order for them to cease fire only resulted in her pleading with Geo to quit the onslaught. Luckily, the conversation went private as Tarta took up talking with Eagle, which from the sounds of it didn't seem to be going so well.

Tatra sighed, wishing that she could see Geo. "If you did not want Eagle-san to die, why are you ruthlessly fighting him?" she asked for perhaps the seventh time.

He responded the same as he had earlier: "He left me with no choice. I don't like this any more than you-- and I AM trying to make sure that I only disable his mecha, not hurt him in any way. I am not fighting 'ruthlessly.'"

Tatra sighed again, knowing that this wasn't going to go anywhere. She thought back to the last conversation she had with him in person, and she closed her eyes.

"You said you would give your life for him."

"And I will live true to that promise."

"But--"

"Tatra, this is how I was raised to be. If this isn't good enough, then I know no better. I know what I have to do, and I will set out to do it."

She shook her head. "You don't understand. Ignore Eagle-san's actions the past few minutes... do you think he would truly want you to die? Do you think your death for his sake would make him happy? Can you honestly say that?"

Geo chuckled. "I admit that he won't be throwing a party."

"So why do you insist on pursuing your death for his life?"

"Because that's what I promised him a long time ago."

Tatra frowned. "When you were children?"

"You might say that."

"How did he react?"

"He... I don't know, thought himself to be lucky or something."

Tatra grinned at the adorable picture of the commanders as toddlers for a moment before the realization set in that those toddlers were adults now. They could not hold on to such ridiculous vows of the past.

"Times have changed Geo-san-- were you taught so thoroughly that you could never break a single promise so you never did, even to something as silly as that, or--"

"Silly?"

"Geo-san, how do you think Eagle-san would react _now_ if you were to reinstate your promise?"

He sighed. "I already know. He called me a hypocrite."

"But you are still going to--"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"As I've said before," slowly said Geo, "his life is worth more than mine."

Tatra blinked, astonished. "How could you say such a thing?"

"It's true. That's why."

"No!" cried Tatra, despite her outrage still carefully choosing her words. "It isn't! Every life is worth just as much as the other--why can you not see that? Who taught you to think like that, what drove you to have such low esteem?"

Geo remained silent. When a good length of time passed, Tatra sighed and said slowly, "You are worth more than you believe."

Silence.

He muttered, "I don't believe that."

Tatra knew not what to say to him to convince him otherwise, so she hesitated, wondering what she could say to remove his pessimism. She glanced over at her little sister, who clearly engaged in an argument with the other Autozam commander, and smiled to herself for a brief second. That was all it took before she remembered what her sister had asked of her only a few moments ago before they had sent their Djinn out, and Tatra wondered if it was really true.

Was she really...?

She nodded slightly and proceeded a new route to her destination.

"What do you think about me?" she asked.

Geo must have been startled by the question, for there was a brief moment of silence before he nervously answered, "What do you mean?"

"What am I to you? Am I worth more than your life as well? Your self-esteem cannot be so run down as to you thinking that you are the lowest of all creatures."

"You don't seem to have much self-esteem yourself."

"I have more than what I'm telling you."

Geo sighed and chuckled slightly. "Yes, you are worth more. As the heir daughter and as a person. I have yet to meet a person who topped your personality, your warmth... I'm sure you will make a fine ruler. If only the politicians of Autozam were more like you, then I'd live in a better country."

Her cheeks warmed. "Is that what you truly think of me?"

"Yes."

"Then what if I said--" Tatra stopped and pondered her words, hoping that she wasn't about to tell a lie, but that became the least of her concerns as she wondered about what his reaction was going to be and whether or not she was about to make a mistake. She took a breath and continued slowly and softly, "What if I said that I love you?"

Pause.

Geo said amusedly, "I'd say that you were joking."

"What if I am not?"

Another pause, but when Geo spoke again, the light tone vanished.

"This isn't hypothetical, is it?"

Tatra shook her head slowly, knowing that it was no use to lie. "No."

Before Geo had a chance to respond--and besides his moment of stuttering, he had been about to, Tatra could hear that--amidst the ominous thundering clouds and soaring debris of rock and clay, a blinding light broke through the atmosphere of the hellish Cephiro, and a boisterous divine voice from the heavens called out, "_It is time..._

_... to open the Path to the Pillar._"

* * *

Rayearth was no longer available, so while the two Magic Knights panicked over the sudden disappearance of their friend, Selece and Windam looked upon the events with concern.

"Who do You suppose will win?" Selece asked. "The Knight who dons Rayearth or..."

"A girl who came here with the destiny to destroy the Pillar has become one of the eligible candidates for the Pillar," Windam responded with mild amusement. "Interesting twist of fate."

"Indeed."

"There are flaws, however. A strong heart and a strong mind are needed to become _eligible_ candidates, but to become a candidate, one can have either. And there is nothing against falling in love."

Selece nodded slowly. "The two candidates who did not make it..."

"One was not as determined as the other two, and the other had a change of heart. He began to question himself. But the eligible candidates who are on the Path now... both are in love although one realizes it and the other doesn't, and the one who does will ultimately win. If the Creator knows this, why did He let him through?"

"Magic Knight Hikaru Shidou of Earth and Commander Eagle Vision of Autozam. They were the eligible candidates before as they are now. Do You suppose that the Creator made a mistake with His decision?" Selece wondered.

"I did not."

Selece and Windam were startled by the sudden interruption by their master and wondered why He had decided to butt into their conversation when He also had the mortals to deal with.

"I did not waste My time," said the Creator. "I had hoped for Hikaru Shidou to become ineligible, and I had not intended for a new candidate to arise, but the relationships are different and the lives of many will become better than they had in the past. I assure You both, We will be happier with the outcome of this Test than We would have the one of nearly twelve hours past."

* * *

To be continued...


	9. Epilogue

**ECHOES OF DESTINY:  
Epilogue**

**Bearit's Notes**: Yay! It's over! A couple of days later than I would have preferred it to be finished, but close enough to the end of November for my satisfaction. I'm not too happy with this fic as far as execution goes (I love the story, but it didn't come out the way I had hoped), but I will make improvements on it sometime in the future (this is where your reviews come in). For now, please enjoy!

* * *

One may say that everything ended as it should have: Hikaru Shidou became Pillar, and through her strength she managed to save Eagle's life and change Cephiro for the better by abolishing the Pillar system. It annoyed the Creator, but he left, with the _Mashin_, for another dimension with the reassurance that the people of Cephiro were nothing like the people of Earth. In fact, Cephiro managed to achieve something--without the Pillar--the people of Earth could only hope to dream of attaining: world peace.

And it was not only within Cephiro they had attained it. The alliance of Autozam, Chizeta, and Fahren sooner than expected extended to accept Cephiro as well, and since there were no other known nation in the other world (many assumed that Mokona made it that way, for with less nations comes less tension and simpler issues to deal with), war no longer became an issue, so Autozam's military simmered enough to put a lot of ships out of commission temporarily, such as the NSX. That made traveling between Autozam and Cephiro easier for Geo and Zazu; they had a smaller ship for their visits.

Unfortunately, Geo had yet to make any visits to the other country, for just as soon as the Pillar was abolished and since Geo was undoubtedly in command since the Audi TT had indeed conquered Eagle, he reported to the president and immediately found himself gone from the country. Zazu stayed behind to handle the direct diplomatic business, but Geo needed to get several paperwork items completed and take care of explaining to not only President Vision and his cabinet about what went wrong and how they can improve on the developments in Cephiro, but to Congress. Geo was not the best speaker in the government, and on top of that, he had many loose ends to worry about. Luckily, when the president realized this, he immediately sent Geo back to Cephiro.

For that, Geo was thankful.

At first, he couldn't realize the point of it all: his main concern was Eagle, and if Eagle had the Audi TT hit him... well, Cephiro was filled with unbelievable deeds. Perhaps Eagle's father knew something that Geo didn't?

The first thing Geo noticed about the land was the lack of lifelessness. Green began to sprinkle across the once barren terrain, and skies shimmered a clear blue to match the ocean that lay beneath the floating mountains. The palace itself, three long crystals in the center of the largest island, gleamed with a brightness that a blind man could see. Geo laughed at the irony of those thoughts before grimly reminding himself why he had been forced to return.

Lantis greeted him in the aerial gateway, and together they walked to the room Eagle slept. For a while neither spoke, and Geo wondered what had happened after he left. It didn't take too much longer until he discovered it.

"Eagle told me what happened between the two of you ever since the fight you had with Chizeta and Fahren," said Lantis. "I do have to admit, it cleared a _lot_ of things up for me."

"Oh?" asked Geo suspiciously. "And what else did he say?"

Lantis smiled coyly then, and Geo blinked in bewilderment. "He has also told me about the disease he has which caused everything... by the way, he still hasn't recovered from it."

Geo stared at Lantis quizzically for a moment before realization set in. Eagle was still asleep. But, a cure? And he can talk? "WHAT?" he gasped.

"You'll see," the swordsman replied as he stopped in front of a closed door. "Go on in. From the sounds of it, you two need to talk."

Lantis flashed one more quick smile before he started down the hall again, and Geo shook his head to clear all irrelevant thoughts away from his mind. He pushed the curly lever down and opened the door, and in the middle of the room laid an unnaturally pale yet peacefully sleeping Eagle Vision.

Geo inhaled sharply and wondered why he had done this, and what kind of joke Lantis was trying to pull. Though, at the same time, and through some weird force that he could not explain, he could almost feel the life force permeating the room, and despite how stupid he knew he would have felt at any other time for doing this, he called out softly, "Eagle?"

No answer. He took another deep breath and stepped inside the bright room, the door shutting silently behind him. He slowly made his way to the bedside and gently sat next to the sleeping figure. He bit his lip and stared at the calm face of his friend before he sighed. What was Lantis going on about earlier?

"Eagle, I--" he began, but hesitated. He clenched his fists and turned his head away, hoping that nobody would barge in at that particular moment. Geo sighed again and stared at the ground. "I'm sorry."

_"For what?"_

Geo yelped and hopped to his feet, staring incredulously at Eagle, whose face had magically transformed cheerfully mischievous. A bell-like laugh rang in his ears, in his mind, _in his heart_, and Geo knew immediately that somehow, Cephiro's powers had allowed Eagle to communicate while he was in his comatose state.

"You scheming little," Geo growled as soon as the shock wore off. "You had it all planned out that you would do this, didn't you?"

Eagle laughed again. _"You're too easy to anger sometimes."_

Geo scowled, and although his eyes were closed, Eagle must have known it somehow, for he chuckled once again, but instead of prodding on the subject further, he went back to the bleak atmosphere of before.

_"Again, I ask, what are you sorry for?"_

Geo held his breath. Why was it so much easier to apologize when he believed that Eagle wouldn't have been able to hear him, much less respond? He knew what he was going to say and how he was going to say it, but now the words refused to slip out of his mouth. Yet again, he sighed, and he sat on the bed, deciding that if he didn't look at his friend--were they still friends?--everything would go much smoother.

"I'd like to say everything," he said slowly so that he would not trip over any single syllable, "but that would be a lie. I'm not sorry that I asked the princesses of Chizeta and Fahren to stop you from fighting. I'm not sorry for trying to get answers out of you because I know damn well that I deserved those answers, but what I am sorry for is--" He swallowed a lump of pride. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you the way I should have. I didn't understand your motives well enough, and I became so reckless that--"

_"You were just being a good friend,"_ sincerely said Eagle, _"and I have nothing to hold you up against. I should apologize, too, I suppose, for not trusting you with my real plans from the start."_

"You had a perfectly good reason not to, I see it now."

_"No. We're best friends, aren't we?"_

Geo blinked and looked at a more serene Eagle as he mulled over the present tense. _We ARE_...

"Eagle..."

_"Fighting you was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Now that I look back on it, I can't believe I went through with it. I was rash and stupid."_

Geo smiled. "You weren't the only one."

_"You're a good friend, Geo. I'd hate to lose you, and every time I thought about it... it would hurt. Remember when you said that for my sake you would become Pillar? You did remember that it was a sacrifice, right?"_

"Of course."

_"And you know why Hikaru ultimately won and became the Pillar?"_

"No. The Creator chose not to reveal that bit of detail to us."

_"She knew how much she was worth to everybody. She knew that if she became Pillar what kind of sadness that would impose on everybody. And, yet, she didn't want anybody else to suffer such consequences, and she wanted so much to get rid of the Pillar System. Her heart was stronger as was her will. She knew her worth. I now know mine. Lantis, too. You were the fourth candidate. Did you know? Do you know?"_

Geo frowned. "About that..."

He could not finish his thought, and he cringed as he remembered what had happened as soon as Tatra had told him...

He shook his head. "No. Not quite."

Eagle laughed quietly. _"You are really worth more than you believe. I gave you such a bad impression back on the Bravada when I... you know. I apologize for that as well. Am I really the only bright thing in your life? Are you sure there is no other?"_

"Now," said Geo with a sigh, "I don't know. There might be one other..."

Geo could tell through his voice that Eagle smiled warmly in his heart. _"Well, then, you better hold on to that person as well as you do me, maybe even tighter. She, perhaps, may be the one who will show you your true worth to the world."_

Geo blinked. "She? How did you know...?"

Eagle gave no answer.

* * *

After Eagle caught Geo up to everything that had happened since the destruction of the Pillar System, Geo left the room quietly to uphold a good diplomatic relationship with the people of Cephiro. Besides, he wished to meet the girl who had accomplished what he had constantly failed to do: convince Eagle to do _anything_.

He silently shut the door behind him with a satisfied smile that not all had gone to waste, and something good had come out of the entire ordeal. He and Eagle had reached a new level of friendship for they trusted and had a better understanding of each other now. Eagle was not doomed for eternal sleep, and there was a great peace established among the four countries. What could be better?

When he turned around to walk the way Eagle had instructed him to, he found his answer. Geo stiffened and his voice caught in his throat allowing him to speak but one word:

"Tatra."

The elder princess of Chizeta stood at the end of the corridor wearing fancier garments than she had when they first met. She, too, had frozen in spot with widened eyes, and for a while neither moved nor spoke.

Despite the happiness Geo felt after the conversation with Eagle, his lingering friendship with him was not his main concern. Always, somewhere in the back of his head or somewhere in the front, he had _her_ in mind. Ever since the Path opened, he thought about her and the heartache--could it really have been that bad?--he had put her through. To her, was he still worth anything?

Finally, Tatra sighed, shook her head, and silently approached him. Geo swallowed a lump of confidence as he wondered what she would say to him, what she would do to him. The fear was irrational, for when Tatra finally came within arm's reach of him, she collapsed into him and embraced him tightly.

He blinked, astonished. "T-tatra?"

"I did not say it to kill Eagle-san," she said quietly into his chest. "I said it because I wanted you to see what _you_ were truly worth... to save _your_ life. I had no intentions on letting anyone die."

_"This isn't hypothetical, is it?"_

Geo cringed as he remembered what she had told him many weeks ago while Hell danced in the debris of Cephiro, and what the Creator had told him in response to it: _"You could have almost made it to the Path. Your will to save the life of your friend was strong enough; however, a recent proclamation allowed you to have second thoughts. Your will broke. There are others who are stronger..."_

He shook his head slowly and wrapped his arms around her. "Nothing of the sort was on my mind. I blame you for nothing. I know you had good intentions."

Tatra pulled away slightly and her watery eyes met his. "I-- I didn't lie when I told you. I really meant it."

"I--" Geo hesitated. The feelings he had in the cockpit of the GTO returned: worry, apprehension, guilt. He had put Tatra through the same emotional ride he would have gone through had he not decided to do anything and everything within his power to stop Eagle from becoming a suicidal maniac. He had been no better than Eagle. He sighed. "I know. You wouldn't have said it if you hadn't meant it."

She weakly smiled. He quickly returned the smile before he became serious once more, and he asked her slowly, "After I went back to Autozam... were you really that worried that I... blamed you?"

Tatra sighed. "I was afraid that you had come to hate me. We had only known each other for a short time, less than a day, and yet... I did not want to lose you as quickly. I wondered if I had made a mistake, but every time I told myself that I did the right thing. But I believe I did. I only hoped that you thought the same, and that you were not angry with me. I think I may... really love you, Geo-san."

He sighed. "I was never angry. I only wondered how much I hurt you-- was it really that bad?"

"It would have been worse if you died."

Geo gazed into the shimmering sincerity in her eyes, and he held back a small sob as he felt the emotions she would have experienced if he had been in the Path and killed. Did she truly...? Could she?

Impossible, and yet he knew it was no fantasy.

He tightly shut his eyes and pulled Tatra closer to him and whispered into her soft, scarlet hair, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have never--"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and said softly, "No, Geo-san. You only did what you felt was right. Saving your best friend's life is never anything to be sorry for, no matter if he doesn't want it. No true friend would let him go." She distanced herself to look at him once more and again their eyes met, but this time a soft smile danced upon her lips. Geo felt his eyes sting just by looking at them, but he could not look away. He did not want to look away. "That's what I love so much about you. You're loyal and kind and gentle and sweet. Who could ask for anything more?"

Geo weakly smiled in return. "Those aren't exactly the best compliments to give to a soldier."

"No. They are compliments you give to the one you love, but only if they are true."

"Do you really... still... love _me_?"

Tatra laughed softly, as if he thought the idea of being in love with him was ludicrous. Well, it was. "Of course. Please never think otherwise."

Before he knew what he was doing, he closed the space between the two faces and gently kissed her lips. She responded accordingly, and both basked in the brilliance of each other's warmth until they pulled away for a breath of air.

Geo grinned and said, "You know, I'm glad Eagle's fate was not mine. I would have never been this happy if it had been."

Tatra smiled. "But your fate was like his. You both came out of it realizing how much you are worth to everyone you love, and that is most important thing of all."

"I guess so."

The two embraced once more, and everything ended the way it should have.

* * *

End


End file.
